Do You Like Shakespeare?
by Saint Joy
Summary: AU Edward Elric and his brother are shipped off to boarding school by Hohenheim, where Ed rooms with the seemingly shallow and dramatic Envy Alighieri. But as time goes on, he discovers there's more to a person than meets the eye... Yaoi, Edvy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, my lovely fellow human beings! Please do enjoy this fanfiction I've written and, if you don't mind, tell me what you think! ****At this moment, we will embark on the everlasting and Shakespeare-ridden love story of Edward Elric and Envy Alighieri. I hope you are thoroughly amused and squee'd-out by ultimate moexplosions~**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! All characters, names, etc. etc. etc. go to Hiromu Arakawa-sensei ^_^**

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-Chapter One-

_Today's the day,_ Edward Elric thought as he tied his flaxen hair back into a classic braid. Several locks of hair stayed loose, framing his face to give him a more mature look. _First day of boarding school. Fun fun fun fun! God, when I go back home for Christmas I'm going to __**kill**__ that damn Hohenheim._ Edward's father had taken up a new job at a law firm, sapping up all of his time and canceling out any fatherly influence he had on his two sons. After about two months of the Elric brothers cooking, cleaning, and going to school by themselves, Hohenheim decided that he would "rather his boys not work so hard for themselves." So instead of using his surplus of money to buy them a better house, he shipped both Ed and Alphonse to a boarding school, where he could have even less influence on his sons than he did before. In Edward's opinion, it was quite ironic; he hypothesized that Hohenheim just didn't want to deal with them around the house anymore. It was actually quite likely.

Ed and Al had been assigned a temporary dorm together for the few days they had spent before the semester began; on the first day of class, they would be given a permanent dorm room with another one of their respective grade classmates. Since Ed was a sophomore and Al was a freshman, the likelihood of them sharing a dorm was exactly zero.

"Al! Are you ready yet?" Edward called, his voice reaching into the bathroom where Alphonse was last seen. A muted "almost" came from his younger brother, cueing Ed to collect their bags and set them by the door. He looked at the nearby clock, which screamed the ungodly time of 5:30AM. They had to get up extra early so that they could drop off their luggage at their new dorm rooms before all the other new/returning students arrived in their busyness.

Al exited the bathroom in full uniform: a blue tie, white collared shirt and matching blue pants. Edward himself wore a similar uniform, but the blue had been switched out for a forest green. Somehow, in the midst of creating the school, the administrators had thought it would be a good idea to provide another distinction between grades so that the freshman could be much more easily targeted by the seniors. What an excellent idea, Edward had thought sarcastically.

The two brothers picked up their respective suitcases and lugged them out of the dorm that was cleaned up to an OCD-like quality. As they trudged down the marble staircase, Alphonse made idle chatter about how lucky they were to be in such a nice school and how he was so excited and this and that. Edward, of course, was too absorbed in his own misery to bother listening. He almost envied Alphonse's obliviousness to the fact that Hohenheim really didn't send them off to a boarding school for the purpose of them having a good experience.

Bidding farewell, Edward and Alphonse went off to their respective grade dorm buildings. Ed arrived at his sophomore building and gazed upon it in indifference. Each of the buildings on the somewhat-small campus were exactly identical, with only a sign over the entrance differentiating one from another. He walked in and signed in at the front desk, receiving his dorm key and his schedule for the semester. Ed noticed that the second key to his room was already missing-perhaps his roommate had already arrived. He questioned the sanity of this person, for what kind of normal human being would willingly get up at such a horrid hour to get themselves situated in their new dorms?

Still sleepy, Edward chose to take the elevator up to his dorm on the 6th floor, which was the highest floor, to his pleasure.

"615, 615..." he muttered, reading the numbers on each door he passed. Finally he reached his room, only to find the door open and a pale figure taking a nap on one of the two beds.

"Um... hello?" Ed called, walking into the room and setting his luggage down on the unoccupied bed. "Hello~?" He was hesitant to wake the sleeping figure up, but luckily his voice was enough to coax the person into the world of the living.

"Who the hell're you, shorty?" The male said, sitting up in his bed. Ed assumed the person was a "he," since this was the male dorm building.

"WHO THE HELL'RE YOU CALLING SHORT?" Ed screeched, forgetting that the boy had literally just woken up five seconds ago. The boy laughed, running his hands through his long black hair that stuck out like... palm tree leaves. Ed snickered at the analogy, but still retained his heightened temper from the "short" comment.

"You're funny," the male said. "You must be my roommate, right? I'm Envy, Envy Alighieri. You?" Envy extended his hand out to the blonde-haired boy. Edward took it, and introduced himself as well. _That's a rather strange name,_ he thought.

"I just transferred into this school, but I'm assuming you were here freshman year," he commented, sitting down on his bed. Envy nodded, swinging his legs over the edge of his respective bed. He didn't feel an ounce of shame that he was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts while Ed was fully clad in his uniform. "Yeah, that's why I'm here so early. I stayed here over the summer, so I might as well get acclimated to the new dorm."

"Why'd you stay over the summer? Are your parents that awful?" Ed asked jokingly, but instantly sobered at the scowl Envy had on his face.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I hate them more than they hate me, and _that's_ saying something," he said scornfully. Edward quieted, feeling the awkward silence spread like wildfire. Luckily, Envy noticed this and broke the silence again.

"But hey, enough about that. You might as well unpack your stuff now, shrimp," he said, unknowing of how hot the blonde's temper would get.

"DON'T CALL ME A SHRIMP YOU PALM TREE!" Ed shouted, letting loose the analogy he had made in his mind. Envy frowned, lifting up a lock of his messy hair.

"You got a problem with my hair, Ed?" He asked coldly, fighting back Edward's firey temper. But yet he blazed on.

"I have a problem with you calling me short! I'm NOT SHORT!" Envy stood up, and demonstrated the 6-inch-plus height difference between himself and Edward. "You're shorter than me, pipsqueak," he teased, setting off another rant from Ed.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE A FUCKING PALM TREE, DAMMIT!" He shouted, only to make Envy laugh more from his reaction. "Alright, alright, you're not short... you're fun-sized." This comment made Envy burst into peals of laughter, leaving Ed speechless but completely pissed off. He stormed over to his suitcases, rapidly unpacking his clothes and shoving them into a dresser that went with the bed. Grabbing his schoolbag, he hurriedly left the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving Envy giggling.

_God, how can that guy go from being kinda nice to being a total asshole?_ Edward fumed, stalking down the hallway. _Where the hell am I supposed to go now? It's only 6:00AM and class doesn't start until 8:20. Aaaargh, that damn Envy!_ Suddenly, Edward was knocked over from behind by the same person who infuriated him. Annoyed, Ed quickly pushed him off and stood up.

"What the hell, Envy? What was that for?" Ed scolded, taking the role of a father reprimanding his child. Envy was kneeled on the floor, his face hidden in his hands. He made sounds as if he were sobbing, which caught Edward completely off-guard. Instantly feeling guilty, he crouched down next to the black-haired boy to ask, "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to hurt you or anything, uh... I'm sorry..."

From behind his hands, Envy's mouth curled into a wide grin. He surprised Ed by grabbing him in a tight hug and squealing in a voice totally unlike his own:

"Yes, I'm okay, Eddie-dear~!"

Ed's sympathy immediately turned back into annoyance, frowning at the little trick Envy had pulled on him. It was obviously going to be a long morning, and an even longer semester.


	2. Chapter 2

**My day has been so made already. I adore all you humans, and thank you to my first reviewer! Advice is always well appreciated! ^_^ Now, if you would like, please enjoy chapter two~!**

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-Chapter Two-

Ed glanced at his schedule as he hurried across the campus. He first had a 10-minute homeroom, and then his first class would be English. To his unfortunate discovery, Ed found that Envy was in his homeroom class and, with a forced schedule exchange from the person himself, his Chemistry, French and World History classes, _and_ his lunch period. Edward executed an excellent facepalm, not hiding his utter irateness at the fact he would not only share a dorm with this moron, but also 5 of his school periods, including his absolute favorite subject. To this, Envy smacked Edward on the head, to which Edward chucked a book at Envy's face, to which Envy returned with much more force. Unfortunately for Ed, he would feel his cheek throbbing for another 3 periods.

Other than Envy's harassment, homeroom was quite uneventful. The class went through self-introductions, with some notable people being: Winry Rockbell, an old friend of Ed's who he hadn't seen for a couple of years after she moved to this school; Lust Aligheri, apparently Envy's sister (_another weird name,_ Ed thought); Paninya, a friend of Winry's; and finally a boy named Ling Yao, another transfer student who seemed just as out of the loop as Ed was.

"So, I hear you're rooming with Envy," Lust purred from behind Ed as he was trying to make his way towards his English classroom. "I feel so bad for you."

"Yeah, I feel bad for myself..." Edward muttered, feeding into her conversation. "Hey, but... shouldn't you be going to class, too?" Lust chuckled, slightly shaking her head.

"Ed, this may come as a big surprise to you, but I'm not following you with the intent of just making conversation. I happen to be in your English class," she responded, poking Ed's temper, but not enough to full-out ignite it.

"Whatever," he said irately, as the two arrived at their classroom.

"Hello, students, I am Ms. Riza Hawkeye, and I will be your English teacher for this semester. I'm sure most of you know each other, and if not, you will in time. Let's get started," the blonde woman in a full suit said in a no-funny-business tone. "As you come up for your textbook and first reading assignment, I'll take roll." To Edward's inward delight, the first reading assignment was _Julius Caesar_ by Shakespeare, a play that he had already read several times over. He wouldn't have to do much work for this class at all. The rest of the period passed easily, though Edward's mind was clouded by his surprisingly fading annoyance at Envy. _Envy is a total asshole, but why can't I find a reason to stay mad at him?_ He questioned himself.

The next class, Trig, passed as uneventfully as the first class. However, when Edward arrived at his World History class, he looked at his schedule and realized in horror:

"Oh god. I have _four consecutive periods. With __**Envy.**_" Speak of the devil, Envy appeared behind the paralyzed boy in all his shining glory.

"Hello once again, O'Chibi-saaaaaaaaaaaan~!" He said all-too-cheerfully, alerting everyone in the class of his presence and, to Ed's embarrassment, the nickname he had assigned to the poor infuriated blonde.

"Fuck you, Envy..." Ed muttered, hoping that the black-haired boy wouldn't take notice. But unfortunately, he did.

"What was that, shrimp?" Envy said in a perfectly fake-happy tone. "Repeat that in my ear, one more time, please." He cupped his ear in an exaggerated fashion towards Edward, _daring_ him to repeat his quiet curse. Ed, his temper far past a smoking ember, took on Envy's dare.

"I said, fuck you, you stupid, brain-dead palm tree." He smiled, appearing to the rest of his classmates that he had said something quite kind, but only Envy knew exactly what he said. But what Envy also knew was that Ed would squirm much more if he said something embarrassing rather than something insulting. Suddenly, Envy grabbed Edward by the collar and squished him in a gigantic bear hug. "Ow!" Ed whispered, feeling Envy's nails purposefully dig into his shoulders.

"Oh, _EDWARD!_ I'm so complimented! Not only did you call me absolutely gorgeous, but you generously expressed your awakening fantasies about spending endless nights with moi-"

"ENVY!" Ed shouted in complete embarrassment, which was exactly the goal that the sadistic Envy was striving for. Ed's reaction only made Envy's dramatic monologue seem more true to their fellow classmates.

"Alright, that's enough," the world history teacher called from the front of the room. "I realize you're excited that it's the first day, but if you don't mind I would like to start class now." The man introduced himself as Mr. Roy Mustang, and slowly began to take roll. Ed pushed Envy off of him, still red-faced and feeling the sear of pain from the spots where Envy grabbed at him. The boy called Ling Yao sat himself down to Edward, who precariously distanced himself as far from Envy as possible.

"I'm assuming you didn't confess your undying love to Envy, am I right?" He whispered.

"Damn straight you're right. God, I hate him. And I have to _room_ with that bastard," Edward muttered, still angry and flushed from the experience just minutes ago. Ling chuckled, and turned his head back to the board. Ed tried his best to calm down, and did so by turning 150% of his attention to the history lecture. _Man, these teachers really get down to business... I guess that's because we're paying money for every second we're here, _Edward thought.

Edward continued to ignore Envy to the best of his abilities, but yet he couldn't shake off the feeling that Envy was staring at him maliciously throughout all of French. However, he wouldn't dare look; he was both afraid to know the answer and determined not to give Envy the satisfaction again that he had disturbed him so. Luckily, after French, Ed had lunch, which allowed him to distance himself from Envy as much as he liked.

"Eeeeeeeeeeedwaaaaaaaaaard!" A voice called from across the cafeteria. Edward turned, and found his younger brother Alphonse running towards him at high speed, with a rather chubby boy in tow. He grinned at the sight: Al was all flushed and smiling, while his friend was being dragged along while he still had a piece of a bagel in his hand.

"Hey, Al! Who's your friend?" Ed asked.

"His name's Gluttony, and he says that he has two older siblings in your grade!" Al responded excitedly. Ed immediately thought of Envy, and thus his happy mood immediately turned into a horrible one.

"Oh... that's great..." he said tiredly. "Where are you sitting?" Al, still pulling Gluttony by the hand, led his older brother to a table where both Winry and Paninya already sat. Edward assumed that Al had already met the two, more specifically Paninya, since she was more of Winry's friend.

"So how has your day been so far, Alphonse?" Winry asked, taking a bite into her sandwich. This cued Alphonse to go off on an excited tangent about how he adored all his teachers and made a couple of new friends but only Gluttony was in his lunch period and how he liked his new roommate and all sorts of other bits of information that Ed didn't really listen to with as much intensity as Winry did. Winry's friend Paninya followed a similar fashion, quietly eating away at her lunch and ignoring much of the chatter that went on at the table. But Ed noticed something about his food: every time he looked away from it, a small portion of it disappeared, without him remembering whether he actually ate it or not.

"Paninya, will you stop taking Ed's food?" Winry scolded, bringing Paninya's thievery into light. Edward, irritated by the discovery, moved his food out of Paninya's reach and muttered, "Eat yer own food, it looks better than mine." Paninya snickered, and responded, "Yeah, but you know what they say. Food always seems better when it's not yours!" This brought a smile to Winry's face, and soon they were both laughing.

_Girls..._ Ed thought. _Why are they all so giggly all the time? What are they even laughing about? Someone like Envy would-_

If he were alone, Ed would have smacked himself in the face. _What the HELL? Why am I thinking of __**Envy**__? I'm trying to forget about that bastard! _He thought angrily. Suddenly, he sensed the feeling of Envy's eyes boring holes into him again; this time he forgot to resist the reflex to look back. Surely enough, Envy was alone at a two-person table, staring with eyes full of... what was it? Hatred? Longing? Jealousy? Edward couldn't decide, but he did realize that the black-haired boy looked quite lonely. But before he could react, the bell rang to signal the end of the lunch period.

_I know I shouldn't care about that asshole, but I might as well talk to him during Chemistry to make sure he doesn't murder me in my sleep._


	3. Chapter 3

***from under pile of schoolbooks* Study study study study study study... ;A; Thank you all for reading~! It really makes my day even when I'm sleepy from pollen attacks. So, please enjoy chapter 3 of Do You Like Shakespeare? ^o^**

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-Chapter Three-

"Hello, students, I'm Mr. Solf J. Kimblee, and I will be your Chemistry teacher for this semester and most likely all this year," the man with tied-back pitch-black hair announced from a single lab counter at the front of the room. He donned a crisp and relatively white lab coat, save for a large burn mark on the right sleeve that made Ed suspicious. "Our first lesson today will be on lab safety, for you should all know how _not_ to get yourselves blown up by a misfortunate mix of chemicals and an unattended Bunsen burner. Not that I'd stop you, of course; it's been a while since I've seen a good, healthy explosion. The suspense is killing me." This comment raised a few nervous laughs from the class, and poorly suppressed raucous laughter from the black-haired "palm tree" sitting next to Ed. Right before class, Ed made it his objective to sit next to Envy so that he could console him about all of what happened before lunch. Luckily, Kimblee put on a safety video rather than do a lecture, so Edward had a bit of time to talk to Envy.

"Uh, Envy?" Ed whispered.

"What do you want, pipsqueak?" Came the hostile response. Ed did his best to hide his anger.

"Are you... are you, um, okay?" Ed sputtered, unsure of which words he should use. Envy looked at him blankly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You?"

Edward hadn't expected such a casual response. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Why do you ask?" Envy muttered curiously.

"Huh?" Ed questioned, and then recovered as Envy open his mouth to repeat his question. "Oh, I, uh... you seemed kinda lonely at lunch and um... after what happened this morning I guess I thought you wanted to murder me in my sleep...?" _Why am I doing this again? _Ed thought. _I __**hate**__ this guy!_ Again, he was greeted by a blank stare, faint with surprise.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it; I usually get shit like that from my family. So... sorry? I guess?" Again with the unexpected responses. This guy said _sorry?_ Someone like him actually has the ability to _apologize?_ Is he _bipolar? _All these questions ran through Ed's mind in the short time between Envy's response and his own confused one.

"Oh, umm... It's okay, I guess... Uh, sorry for cursing at you." Envy smiled, satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. Automatically, Ed found himself smiling back. It freaked him out a bit, that he was smiling back to someone he thought he hated. Not wanting more confusion in his subconscious, Ed returned to watching the safety video.

The rest of the day passed with thoughts of Envy faint in Ed's mind since all had been resolved (?). His last two classes were Aerobics and Creative Writing; Ed wasn't quite pleased with the latter, but all the same he was relieved that his last two periods were quite relaxing.

The bell rang to signal the end of the day, in which Ed exited his classroom in a pleasant mood. The students were free to do as they pleased around campus until 6:30PM, which was their dinnertime and, soon after, their curfew. This gave Edward plenty of time to visit the library that had been his only source of interest when Hohenheim brought him and his brother for orientation. Unfortunately for him, the library was a trek to the exact opposite side of the campus from where he was.

"Hey! Edward!" A voice called behind him as he began his journey to the library. Ed turned, expecting the ever-annoying Envy, but was greeted with the somewhat good-natured Ling.

"Hey," Ed responded.

"Where're you going? Do you have any food, by any chance?" Ling asked, holding out his hand in an expecting way. Edward sighed.

"I'm going to the library, and you can wait for food until dinner at the dorm building," he said. "Where were you planning to go?"

"I didn't come to orientation, so I don't know where anything is, and I'm actually very hungry, so I figured I'd follow you and pester you for a snack until dinnertime," Ling said as-a-matter-of-factly. "So, fork it over. I saw you pack some of your lunch away in your bag when you came out of the cafeteria." At this point, Edward and Ling had already started walking towards the library and Ed realized that this guy was not going to leave him alone even after he got his food.

"Go away, Ling!" Ed retorted, smiling a bit to let Ling know he's playing around. "I haven't known you for a day and you're already extorting food off of me. Do you do this to everyone you meet?"

"Yes," the squinty-eyed boy answered nonchalantly. "Your point?" Ed sighed again. To which Ling suddenly collapsed on the pathway.

"LING? LING! Are you okay?" Edward asked, panicked. His friend (?) didn't respond, only lying there on the asphalt.

"I... I need food, Ed... I'm so tired, so hungry..." Ling whimpered. Ed, still panicking, grabbed the other half of his sandwich he did indeed hide in his bag after lunch, and gave it to Ling. As such, Ling immediately perked up to his normal talkative state.

"Thank you very much, Ed!" He said enthusiastically as he chomped into Ed's sandwich. For a third time, Edward sighed.

_Am I surrounded by incredibly dramatic and emotionally manipulative people?_ He thought. The two arrived at the huge library, where Ed spent the rest of his time checking out books and chatting with Ling. As much as Ling irritated him, Ed found that he was a good guy who seemed to be pretty trustworthy. At least, that's what Ed perceived.

"Hey, can I sit with you, Ed?" The spiky-haired boy asked, making Ed and Ling jump a bit as they entered the dining hall. Envy looked a bit miffed at the fact that Ed was with Ling. "Or is there only room for two?" He added.

Without thinking, Ed responded, "Sure, you can sit. Have you met Ling...?" Envy turned to the boy with Ed and gave him a big smile that Ed wasn't sure was real. "No, I haven't! I'm Envy Aligheri, you?" Ling returned with an equally ambiguous smile, introducing himself. "I'm Ling Yao, the friend of Ed's who _didn't_ try to utterly humiliate him on the first day."

Poison shot across Envy's eyes like lightening, clueing Ed in that the two had indeed met before and did indeed absolutely despise each other.

"Well, that's all water under the bridge, so why don't we all go over to a table and eat, shall we?" Ed said nervously, ushering the two over to an empty table. Yet, in the back of his mind, he questioned why he bothered to have anything to do with Envy in the first place. He and Envy, they hated each other, didn't they? But Envy apologized, and so did he, so... Ed guessed that there would be time to sort things out when they went back to their dorms that night.

The delicious taste of the food had no affect on Edward, for too much tension and poison hovered in the air around Ling and Envy. A couple of times Ed heard mutterings like, "miserable bastard" and "insufferable prick" emanating from the mouths of the two black-haired teens, but he was all too terrified of what would happen if he bothered to break the silence. He felt that he would get mercilessly stabbed with the very knife that would cut the tension between the two. So instead of doing anything about it, Ed continued to awkwardly act as the "third wheel" of sorts to the everlasting inner fight between Envy and Ling. But he had to wonder: what the hell was _up_ with those two?


	4. That Night

**Lookie! An extra chapter! :D Please enjoy, and review if you would like to~!**

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-That Night-

"You wanna take a shower first, or...?" Ed asked, still feeling the awkward after-effects of dinner. Envy looked up from his copy of _Hamlet_, and responded, "Nah, I took a shower yesterday, so you could go." Instead of doing so, Edward sat down on his bed, while Envy was splayed out on his own.

"Say, Envy?" Ed asked. "You don't hate me... do you?" Envy looked up at him with an incredibly confused look on his face. Then he smirked.

"Hate you? No worries, no worries, my dearest Edwina..." he began, with the "Edwina" nickname igniting Edward's temper. "Fear not! I do not hate thou, my dearest Edward, for thou hath not done much to spark an everlasting flame of wrath in my heart. Rather, the flame burns-"

"_Alright, I get it._" Edward interrupted exasperatedly, but still smiling at the dramatic silliness of the boy opposite him. "Got a little Shakespeare fever?" Envy smirked.

"Since thy roommate's youngest years, he hast acquirèd an everlasting love for the works of Shakespeare, reading from the most favoritèd ones to the most abstract," Envy announced, brandishing his _Hamlet_ book in a very dramatic fashion. The monologuing in combination with the ridiculous look on Envy's face made Ed burst into peals of laughter, making him crash to the floor. The collision brought a smile to Envy's face, which very soon erupted into a second chorus of laughter. When the two finally calmed down, their stomachs cramping, Envy asked, "Why do you ask? Do you hate me?"

Edward puzzled over this. Did he hate Envy or didn't he? They just had a huge laughing fit together, but they've fought a lot considering they only met this morning...

"It's too early to tell," Edward responded neutrally, not looking at Envy so as to amplify his dead-pan attitude. Until Envy jumped on him.

"You can't give me such an apathetic answer, Ed! I want a real one, or else I'll go off on a Shakespearian rampage!" Envy yelled playfully, completely glomping the boy beneath him while smacking him on the head with _Hamlet_.

"Alright, alright, get off of me, you sadist!" Ed half-shouted, pushing the black-haired teen off and replacing himself on top, pinning Envy down by the shoulders.

"Ooh, quite a dominant one, aren't we, Ed?" Envy purred in a seductive tone. In a very comical way, Edward flew backwards with a very red face as far away across the room as possible.

"E-E-Envy! I-It's not l-like that!" Ed stammered, trying to hide his incredibly red face from Envy's prying eyes. The boy in question snickered, and went over to Ed with a hand outstretched.

"I know, I know, I know, now just get up and get undressed," Envy said ridiculously.

"... did you _have_ to make that sound as provocative as possible?" Edward grumbled, taking Envy's hand as a lift up.

"I have to make _everything_ sound as provocative as possible," Envy responded without missing a beat.

"So you got assigned _Julius Caesar_ rather than _Hamlet?_ You lucky bastard," Envy said after Edward exited the bathroom, fully clean and comfortable in school-issued sleepwear. Envy was holding Ed's copy of _Julius Caesar_ in his hand, and Ed's open bag in the other.

"You went through my _bag, _Envy? _**Really?**_ What are you, my girlfriend who thinks I'm cheating?" Ed responded irately.

"No, but would you like me to be?" The teen joked, tossing Ed's bag onto its owner's respective bed.

"There is no correct response to that, so I'm just gonna-" Edward began, and jumped Envy to grab for his book. "-get my book back, thank you." In turn, Envy jumped backwards and stretched his arm that held the book back so that it was just out of Edward's grasp.

"I'd like to see you try," Envy teased. "Nyah nyah, shortie, shortie! Shortie can't get his book back!"

"DON'T CALL ME SHORT!" Edward shouted, lunging forward and ferociously grabbing at his book while climbing all over the taller boy. At that moment, Envy noticed that there was a slight pressure on his crotch area. He looked down to see exactly what it was, and was greeted with a sight that most certainly would humiliate his little blonde Mt. Envy climber.

"Say, Ed?" Envy said, bringing Edward to a stop.

"What?"

"If you don't mind, it would be in my best interest if you removed your hand from my crotch."

The following moment of silence was one of the utmost awkwardness.

Then Edward flew back in a similarly comical fashion to the flight he performed the first time.

"Ah... ha..." Edward was so incredibly embarrassed and red-faced that the words simply stopped at the vocal chords. "I... sor..." he stammered again. He was so stunned from embarrassment that Envy could've stripped him if he wanted to. But for Edward's sake and for the situation's sake, Envy let that thought pass without action.

"Uh, Ed? Edward?" Envy called. No response from the tomato-faced boy. "Shrimp?" Still no response. This was serious. Envy made his way over to the petrified blonde, and nudged him in the side.

"It's okay, Ed, it's not like you touched my crotch on purpose," Envy said a bit too loudly. _At least, I don't think you did,_ continued Envy's thoughts, but the little reason he had in his possession told him that saying that wouldn't be optimal for getting Ed back to down to Earth. "Ed~? It's okay, really..." _If you really want me to, I could grab your crotch so we could feel even?_ Envy thought again, and again his reason told him that wasn't very reasonable. Then again, shock therapy works, right?

"If you don't become unembarrassed in 5 seconds, I'm going to start performing a striptease and tell everyone you specifically requested it to satisfy your lecherous tendencies," Envy threatened in a very dangerous manner. Fortunately for him, Edward sobered in a manner of milliseconds.

"... I don't need a striptease, thank you very much," Edward said, his face still red but his vocal chords properly working again. "Can I please have my book back, though?"

Later that night, Ed and Envy sat in their respective beds, reading their respective Shakespeare plays. Everything was quite quiet, and Ed was quite pleased with that fact. It was Envy who broke the silence yet again.

"You know that guy Ling?"

"Yeah?" Ed asked.

"I hate him."

"Really, I couldn't tell."

"No, I really hate him."

"And I _really_ couldn't tell." Envy hit his head with _Hamlet_ several times in frustration before continuing.

"He's my god-awful brother. But we're not related. My old man adopted him a while back without telling the rest of us. The kid seemed to be cool with the rest of my family, but he really despises me. And I despise him, so that's how it goes." He looked over to the blonde, who was solemnly reading his book. "You okay there? Did you get through the sex scene _that quickly_?" Ed shot a look at Envy that was filled with irritation and... sadness?

"There _is _no sex scene, which is something that would make _you_ sad, not me," Edward joked. "But no, it isn't the book. I was just imagining what it would be like if Alphonse hated me..."

"Your little brother?" Envy inquired. Ed nodded. "You seem pretty close."

"We _are_ pretty close. Probably closer than you'd ever see two brothers," Ed responded. Envy considered this.

"Must be nice, right?" Ed nodded again, with a small smile.

"Yeah. I've never been as close to anyone as I am to Al. He's my little brother, you know? I've gotta look out for him." Envy, now distracted from his book, tossed it over to his bag. Ed did the same with his own book.

"Maybe _I_ could be the exception to that 'never' of yours..." Envy mumbled, until he realized what he had accidentally said. But luckily for him, Edward had already fallen asleep as soon as his book was out of his hands. Envy smiled, and turned off the lamp between their beds.

"Nighty night, O'Chibi-san."


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello my lovely chiblettes! :D I'm glad that I've managed to keep up with writing for the time being... it's all you amazing people that make me feel so special! ^o^ Please enjoy chapter 4! Fufufufufu~ ;)**

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-Chapter Four-

As he slept, Edward was visited by dreams of the dark-haired boy who slept in the bed opposite his own. If he were awake, Ed's opinion would be that they were more of nightmares. Envy had pressed him up against a wall in a very aggressive manner, and as dream-Ed flinched in preparation for the punch aimed at him, a person ran into Envy and knocked him away. Ed thanked the person, but soon realized that the person was Envy, too. The second Envy walked up to him, pried him off the wall he clung to, and hugged him tightly. In a moment of confusion, dream-Ed pushed the second Envy away from him, to which the second Envy cried over on the floor. As Ed kneeled down from worry to calm the black-haired boy, a third Envy tapped him on the shoulder and soon turned into Hohenheim, who then pinched Edward's nose, hard, and pinned him to the ground. In fear, Edward woke up sweating and with a very painful sensation shooting through his nose.

"... Ow. Ow. Owww, what the hell?" Ed turned to face Envy's bed, eyes still closed, only for the pain to grow more and his nose to twist. He opened his eyes out of pain, only to see...

"Envy, what the friggin' hell are you _doing?_"

"I'm waking you up," he answered casually, as if he weren't holding and twisting Ed's nose.

"There _are_ better ways to wake a person up than cutting off their nasal airflow and twisting it painful-OW! FUCK OFF!" Edward yelled as Envy twisted his nose one final time before letting go, laughing sadistically all the way back to his respective bed.

"Name _one_." He asked, sitting down.

"Oh, I don't know, _the alarm clock?"_ Ed said angrily, chucking his pillow at Envy's face. He was still a bit fazed from the dream he had, but the memories of it were fading fast for his mind had already been set to the "kill Envy" mode.

"Alarm clock? We don't have an alarm clock," Envy stated innocently.

"All dorms have one, right there on the side-table..." Edward claimed, pointing sleepily over to the side-table in question. It only held a mug of water that Envy must had been drinking out of during the night.

"Oh, you mean _that_ alarm clock..." Envy trailed off, with a very slight hint of guilt in his voice. "The damn thing woke me up the morning after I moved into this dorm... it didn't have a very happy ending."

Edward issued another one of his epic sighs. "Forget it. But how are we supposed to know when to wake up?" Envy pointed at the phone in the corner of the room.

"Wake-up calls from the desk. When there's a call, that means it's 7:00AM."

"Well, did we get a call yet?" Ed asked.

"Not yet."

"Then why the hell would you _ever_ think to wake me up?"

"I was lonely," Envy responded in a mocking tone, giving Ed a big set of perfectly fake puppy-dog eyes.

Edward held the bridge of his nose with one hand in a very Roy Mustang-like fashion. To his distaste, Edward's internal clock told him it was before 6. He tried to go back to sleep, but then he realized that he had thrown his pillow at Envy, who was keeping it hostage in his arms.

"... I'm guessing I'm not getting that back?" Ed sighed, indicating the pillow in Envy's arms.

"Why would you?"

"It's my pillow."

"But you gave it to me. It's a present."

"Correction: I _threw _it _at_ you because _you_ were being an asshole."

"Still a present."

"It's not a present."

"Still a present!"

"It's not a friggin' present, give it back!" Edward jumped out of his bed and launched himself at Envy, desperately grabbing at his pillow that now was held out of his reach, again, by the boy with spiky black hair. The two fought for a bit, with Ed climbing all over Envy and Envy meanly keeping the pillow out of his grasp.

"Hey, I got you out of bed! Lucky me~!" Envy yelled gleefully. Ed ignored this in hopes that Envy's grip would slacken. But, of course, it didn't.

"Give me... the fucking... pillow!" Ed shouted, losing his grip on the makeshift platform he made of Envy's arm, and collapsed onto the taller boy. Suddenly, all the muscle tension in Envy's body left him as he laid back on his bed with Ed on top of him. He quickly wrapped his arms around the blonde, not letting him go.

Edward blushed at the close contact. "E-Envy! Let go of me!" He demanded. But Envy held him tight.

"Noooo, O'Chibi-san~!" Envy argued loudly. "Now you threw _yourself_ at _me_, so now you're mine!" The unexpected words made Ed blush even deeper. _Why is he acting like this?_ He thought frantically.

"Let... go!" Edward said as he unsuccessfully tried to free himself from Envy's hug.

"Noooo..." Envy said indignantly. "Please, just for a little longer..." The taller boy's cooing voice came as a shock to Edward, but all the same he stayed in Envy's grasp for the time being.

_I've known this guy for two days, and I already feel like I've known him for months,_ Ed thought. _He's abused me and called me short ten thousand times. He's humiliated me to no end. So why is it that now he's hugging me, and I'm letting him?_ Soon enough, sleep overtook reason and questions, allowing Envy a time to silently kiss Edward on the top of his head.

"O'Chiiiibiii-saaan." Envy called, shaking Edward again. "Get off, I need to answer the phone." Ed still slept on. Envy was the one to sigh this time. "Come on. Eeeeeedwaaaaard... Wake uuuuup..." The blonde began to stir, but still wasn't awake enough to realize where he was. The phone continued to ring at a high-pitched tone. "Wake **UP!**" Envy yelled impatiently, sending the startled Edward to the floor.

"Wha...?" Ed mumbled as Envy went over to the phone. He picked it up and immediately put it back down, knowing that it was only a wake-up call. "Did I fall asleep... again?" Ed asked sleepily.

"Yeah, you fell asleep on me. Literally. Get dressed, breakfast is at 7:30. I can already smell bacon," Envy responded hungrily, already removing his pajama top and replacing it with the uniform shirt. As he brushed his hair back a bit, he looked over to Edward, who was still dazed on the floor. "Get up!" Envy barked, once again startling the blonde. Now fully alert, Ed nodded and got up to get dressed in the bathroom.

_I fell asleep on Envy. Literally. Did he stay awake the entire time? Why did he do that? __**And why the hell did I **__**let**__** him?**_ All these questions rushed through Ed's mind as he dressed himself in his pristine uniform. _Never mind that, Ed. We were both sleepy, and it doesn't mean anything... right?_ He left the bathroom, fully dressed and groomed, and saw Envy waiting for him on his bed. His uniform wasn't exactly the neatest: he left a couple of buttons open near the collar and he obviously had no idea how to tie a tie. The sight of such a malformed tie set off an OCD tendency of Edward's.

"That is the most retarded way I've ever seen someone tie a tie," Ed said, sighing sarcastically. Envy frowned, but then untied the accessory, walked over to Ed, and roughly pushed it into his hand.

"Here. Why don't you tie it? If you can reach, that is..." Envy snickered. Now it was Ed's turn to frown.

"Shut up, you bastard," he retorted, reaching up to wrap the tie around Envy's neck. He crossed the tails over, looped them, pulled the knot, and pulled the front side through. A perfect half-Windsor knot. Ed sighed a bit in relief.

"Looks fantabulous, Edwina," Envy complimented, lifting the tie up for emphasis. "Come on, let's go and get that bacon."

_...Right?_


	6. Chapter 5

**Finally, I've gotten around to posting the next chapter~! All my teachers decided to load up on tests and homework on the same day ;A; Nonetheless, I am happy to present to you... Chapter Five! :3**

**Also, for the people of the audience who don't speak French, I've added the translations at the bottom of the page. Now, without further delay...**

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-Chapter Five-

"Et, comme de cela, la classe est rejetée. Rendez-vous![1]" The french teacher, Ms. Ross, announced just as the bell rang. Ed packed up his books, yelled an eager "au revoir![2]" to some of his friends and the Ms. Ross, and quickly made his way out of the classroom. Of course, this is what he would've done if Envy hadn't interrupted his planned routine.

"Comment êtes-tu, mon petit?[3]" He asked in a sweet voice. The french teacher had made it a rule that as long as you were in the French classroom, you spoke French, and nothing else.

"NE M'APPELEZ PETIT PAS, TU PALMIER![4]" Ed yelled, raising a couple of chuckles from his classmates. Lowering his voice a bit out of embarrassment, he added, "Que voulez-tu?[5]"

"Hey, tu détendre. Je veux manger le déjeuner avec tu. C'est cool?[6]" He asked, breaking out of his French character a bit.

"Ouais, ouais, que ce soit,[7]" Ed responded, as the two exited the classroom together. "You seem to be one who likes French."

Envy smiled. "Oui, oui, mon ami [8]. 'Tis a beautiful language, French. I'm impressed that you went out of your way to find the word for 'palm tree'," he said, slapping Ed on the back a bit too hard. "Should I learn a nice assortment of insults for you, too?"

"If you want to get killed, sure, be my guest," Ed responded with a threatening smile.

The menu for that day called for shrimp caesar salad, a cheeseburger, or spaghetti in meat sauce. When Ed and Envy went up to the counter for their meals, Envy tried to "correct" Ed's order when he said he wanted the shrimp salad; Envy claimed that Ed was being cannibalistic and dramatically proclaimed that the shrimp themselves were Ed's closest cousins. He almost lost his lunch to Edward's fist for that. In return, Ed was forced to jump out of the way before Envy tried to knock _his_ plate to the floor.

The two made their way over to the table where Winry, Paninya, Al and Gluttony sat together. With an awkward introduction and connections made by Al about Envy's brotherhood to Gluttony, all six of them hunkered down to eat. Edward, Al and Winry began a lively discussion about their summer vacations and plans for the weekend, to which Paninya reluctantly joined in on. It seemed to Ed that Winry and Paninya were pretty close friends, even though Paninya didn't seem to talk much. But, then again, maybe she was just the kind of person that gradually warms up to people. Even so, Ed made it a point to keep his food far out of Paninya's thieving reach.

"Say, Envy, why aren't you saying anything?" Al asked innocently. "There's no need to be shy, since you're Ed's friend!" Envy looked over, half-chewing on his cheeseburger, and said, "I was just partaking in a moment of silence for someone." Suddenly, the air got quiet.

"For who?" Winry asked sadly.

He paused for dramatic effect. "... for Edward. The shrimp salad everyone's eating is like mass genocide to him."

"ENVY, YOU MORON!" Edward yelled, hitting his arm with the back of his hand. And of course, Envy hit back.

"What? I'm just showing a little respect for your family, gosh!" Envy said defensively but in an obviously joking manner.

"I'm not a friggin' shrimp!" Ed retorted, his face becoming flushed and his shoulder throbbing a bit from Envy's blow.

Envy gasped, grabbed one of the shrimp off of Edward's salad, and squished the head between his thumb and forefinger as if to cover the thing's ears. "EDWARD! Don't say such a thing in front of the children!" At this point, Al, Winry and Paninya had long since erupted into choruses of raucous laughter, both at Envy's fake drama and Ed's insanely hot temper. Gluttony, however, seemed to be absorbed into his cheeseburger, and took no notice.

"For the love of God, Envy. You're one of the most ridiculous and sadistic people I've ever met," Edward said, defeated.

"And proud to be, Edwina," Envy responded happily, hitting Ed on the back again a bit too hard.

"... say, Paninya," Winry whispered. "Do you notice anything weird about Ed?"

"I'm not really sure, since I don't actually know him very well. Or at all, for that matter," Paninya responded. "Why?"

"I dunno, but Ed seems _a lot_ more tolerant of Envy calling him short than anyone else. And that's saying something, since usually he's not tolerant at all," Winry continued. "It's kinda weird to see him get flushed like that, too. I haven't seen that in a _long_ time."

"Whatever, don't overanalyze things," Paninya dismissed as she silently stole a bit of food off of Ed's plate when he looked away.

Throughout lunch, Ed had not failed to notice one thing about Envy's behavior: despite being brothers, Envy had not spoken a word to Gluttony, not once. Edward had guessed from the minute amount of information Envy disclosed about his family that they weren't very close, but he had never thought that Envy would just ignore his brother like he did. _Maybe it's just coincidence?_ Ed contemplated.

"Hey, Env-" Ed began, but the bell signaling the end of the period cut him off before he could finish. Envy gave him a questioning look, and said something that Ed couldn't hear over the bell.

"What?" Edward raised his voice, but Envy just shook his head. Then, Envy simply took the blonde by the hand (against his will, of course) and pulled him along to arrive at their Chemistry classroom.

Mr. Kimblee, upon entering the room, sharply announced the lecture's topic, and began to bark out streams of information without another moment's notice. It was no secret that he was in an absolutely terrible mood; Edward guessed that he just held a chemistry lab for the previous class and nothing went wrong or blew up. Then he came to the quite accurate conclusion that Kimblee was absolutely insane and really should be diagnosed with pyromania. However, Ed had no time to complete his thoughts, for if he did he would have lost precious time to take down notes on his chemistry teacher's rapid lecture.

After the first 10 minutes of lightening-speed note-taking, Edward's hand started to cramp up. Of course, Envy took the initiative to say something vulgar.

"Shouldn't your right hand be stronger, considering how much an average teenage boy uses it on himself?" He joked, nudging Ed with his elbow suggestively. Ed ignored him, which irritated Envy.

"Hello~? Shriiiimpiiie. Answer meeeee!" Envy continued to poke and nudge at the blonde who's irritation was growing exponentially. After about 5 minutes of prodding and insults and distraction, Ed finally cracked.

"ENVY! Will you _please_ focus on your own notes and leave me alone to take mine?" He whispered fiercely, gesturing towards Envy's notebook, which... was completely blank, like the face Envy was currently giving him.

"... We were supposed to take notes?" Envy said, now whispering like Ed. "I thought he was gonna give us presentation slides, like my bio teacher did last year!"

"It's called a 'lecture' for a reason, Envy. Speech only. _You're_ _expected to take notes on your own._" Edward said, exasperated. Then Envy started nudging him around again.

"Eeeeeeed! Can I pweaaaaase borrow your notes? I pwomise I'll take notes from now ooooon!" He whined. "Pwetty pwease? I needs them! I don't wanna fail chemistwy! You wouldn't let your pal Envy fail, would y-"

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP?" Came a very, very angry yell from the front of the room, sending a shock through every one of the students, including the spiky-haired boy irritating the braided-haired blonde. The source of the voice was Kimblee, who's already heightened temper just shorted out by the fact that a student, to be exact, Envy, was interrupting his lecture and even disrupting his classmate's note-taking.

"TAKE OUT YOUR PEN, AND START WRITING SOME FUCKING NOTES!" He shouted, sending Envy's hand reflexively to his pen, and then from the pen to the paper. While he didn't look embarrassed, Edward could tell he was disturbed by Mr. Kimblee's sudden outbreak.

_It kinda serves him right, but Mr. Kimblee __**was**__ kinda mean..._ Ed thought, resuming his note-taking.

Another 15 minutes later, Kimblee had calmed down enough to slow his speech down from 450 words per minute to a more reasonable pace of about 300. This encouraged Envy to begin pestering Ed again.

"... so, can I borrow your notes?" He whispered. Edward frowned.

"No." He whispered back.

"Pleaaaaaaaase?" Envy asked again in a mocking tone.

"You should be able to take your own notes."

"Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase?" Envy shot him a look that begged to be pitied on, complete with a slightly pouting bottom lip. Ed sighed.

"Fine, you can come with me after school to the library; I'll give them to you then. But only if you _shut up_ and let me take the notes you oh-so need," he resigned, causing Envy to give him his signature smile of success, and then returned to "take notes" for the rest of the class.

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**Translations:**

**[1] And, as of that, this class is over. See you!; [2] Goodbye!; [3] How are you, my little one?; [4] DON'T CALL ME LITTLE, YOU PALM TREE!; [5] What do you want?; [6] Hey, relax. I want to eat lunch with you. That cool?; [7] Yeah, yeah, whatever; [8] Yes, yes, my friend.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Ugh, what a terrible day. At least I'm home now, writing the next chapter and happily finding more and more story alerts ^_^ Thank you all for reading, and please enjoy chapter six! It's a bit longer than usual... hope you like! **

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-Chapter Six-

Immediately after school, Edward took no time to linger around, for he feared what torture Envy would bring on him if he was late. Then again, it _was _Ed who was doing _Envy _the favor... even so, the speedy blonde didn't want to risk it. He practically ran across the campus to get to the library before Envy, only to run right smack into him at the entrance.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa," the taller boy exclaimed, catching Edward in his arms. "You must relax, small one. I shall refuse to enter this building of literature if you shall refuse my requests," he continued in Shakespearian tone. Ed blushed, and pulled himself out of the boy's arms.

"Don't call me small, you moron..." He mumbled, hiding his face from Envy to avoid being mocked.

The two made their way to the relatively empty part of the library, where Ed had spent several hours the previous day, reading an endless numbers of books on an endless number of subjects. Ed led Envy to a table and some chairs, and slowly collapsed into a cushiony chair nearby.

"Be careful, Ed, the chair might eat you if you fall through the cracks," the black-haired teen teased, sitting down in a more sturdy chair next to Edward's.

"Your chair might break because it can't support your bony ass," Ed retorted, his voice muffled out of relaxation. As expected, Envy hit Ed on the shoulder and released a small slew of vulgarities. And, as usual, Edward took no mind to it. Suddenly realizing the reason why he and Envy were there, he turned to reach for his notebook in his bag, only to find it sitting on Envy's lap as he copied down the notes. As Edward began to object, Envy said, "You take really good notes, Ed."

The compliment took Edward aback. "Really?" was his response.

"Yeah, really. Your handwriting is so cute and neat," Envy said. "And I mean that as a compliment, if you thought otherwise." Ed began to blush again, thinking about how Envy just referred to something about him as "cute." But then he shook himself out of it, internally yelling, _Why the hell are you blushing like an elementary schoolgirl? Stop blushing! You have no reason to!_

"Thanks, I guess," came another short-worded response. The two continued in silence for a bit longer, until Ed decided it would do himself better if he started his homework. He went over to his bag, grabbed out _Julius Caesar_, a pen, and a packet of sticky notes, sat down next to Envy again, and began to make notations. About 5 minutes later, Envy had long since been done copying and was becoming very bored indeed.

"What part are you up to?" He asked, using his pencil to bend Ed's book towards his own field of vision.

"The part where Caesar and Calphurnia are discussing the foreboding dreams she had the night before," Ed replied, shaking Envy's pencil off his book. "Hawkeye told us we had to do a brief psychoanalysis of the marriage between the two."

Envy nodded, and then added, "You know who's psycho? Kimblee. I swear, before I thought he was awesome, but after that mood he was in today I feel like I want to murder him." Edward looked up, and waved around his book a bit.

"Ironic that you feel that way, since we're reading books about how some people killed other people," the blonde remarked, smirking. "I hope you don't plan on sticking a knife into him."

"Nah, that would leave evidence of murder. If I blew something up in chem lab, people would say it was either an accident or Kimblee was in so much ecstasy from the explosion that he just killed himself in it on purpose," Envy responded casually, as if he wasn't talking about such a brutal topic. At first, Edward was completely astounded by Envy's casualness. But, he recovered quickly.

"I don't think that would work out very well."

"And why's that, o' omniscient chibi-san?"

"He would die happily in that case." Envy laughed.

"We wouldn't want that, would we?" He asked sarcastically.

"No, not at all," Ed responded with a face of stone, making Envy laugh even more just out of pure insanity.

"Well, what's this?" A voice called from behind a bookshelf. "Is something dying? I just heard the most horrible cry..." Ling stepped out into the open, greeting Ed and ignoring Envy. "Did you hear that, Edward? It sounded like a snake was being strangled while having a cat down its throat." Ed didn't comment, but only smiled awkwardly for lack of a better reaction. Ling then turned to face Envy. "Oh, wait, it was just _you_," he said, provoking Envy's temper.

"Gave up on the nice act in front of Ed after a day, huh?" Envy growled.

"I find no need to, since now he knows we're mortal enemies; with good reason, of course," Ling said, still smiling. "How are you, Ed? Whatcha reading there?"

"Uh... _Julius Caesar_," Ed responded, glancing at Envy and knowing that a fight was about to break out.

"Ah, is that so?" Ling confirmed. "My class was assigned _Hamlet._ It's a shame, I'm not a fan of Shakespeare unlike that moron in the crappy-looking uniform." He continued, still smiling while gesturing to his brother, who was silently turning red with building rage.

"I'm a fan of Shakespeare, too, Ling," Ed responded, giving Envy a clue that he was on his side this time. "And don't you think you're being kind of rude to my friend?" Ling's eyes widened, darting from Ed to Envy to Ed again.

"_Friend?_ Some person you've picked out for a friend. That bastard won't do a single thing for you unless it involves your pain and humiliation. All he wants to do is torture you in every way poss-" Suddenly, Envy's temper burst and he hooked his hand around Ling's collar, pulling him up to meet his face.

"Shut the fuck up, you asshole," Envy growled ferociously. "Or else I'll take that damn mouth of yours and sew it closed. Fuck off."

Ling craned his neck towards Ed, who was paralyzed while watching the two fight and spit out hateful words.

"See, Ed? He wants to sew my mouth shut so I never talk again. If you get on his bad side he might cut your tongue out." Envy yelled obscene words at him again, shaking him violently by the collar.

"Why are you getting so angry, Envy? Are you actually getting attached to someone other than yourself?" Ling continued, infuriating Envy to unbelievable levels. This time, Envy raised his fist to plummet into the straight-haired boy's jaw-it would have made contact if Ed hadn't jumped in the way to take the hit himself.

"Ed!" Ling and Envy yelled simultaneously. Envy released Ling to hold Edward's shoulders delicately, examining the growing bruise on the blonde's temple. Nothing was bleeding or broken, but the spiky-haired boy still flew into a state of panic.

"Ed? Are you okay?" He asked, shaking the shorter boy a bit. Ed whispered an "ow", and then broke away, holding his head.

"Don't start fights, Envy, it never ends well..." he mumbled, sitting back down in a chair. Ling, unshaken by the moment, turned his back and left with a, "See what you did, Envy? You hurt another person, just as always." He ran into another blonde boy, who ignored the collision at the sight of Edward's throbbing bruise.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed, sitting down next to the older blonde. "I heard yelling! Are you okay? What happened?" Ed smiled, and turned to look at his flustered brother.

"You're making more of a fuss by speaking so loud, Al," he joked, ruffling Al's hair with the hand that wasn't holding his head. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Al shot a nervous glance at Envy, who was watching the two brothers with a look that Ed couldn't describe. Whatever it was, it was full of pain.

"Env-" He began, but Envy turned and left without another word. Alphonse looked at his brother sadly, and placed a hand on Edward's arm.

"What happened?" He asked sweetly.

Within a matter of minutes, Ed spilled his guts about how in only two days he had started to collect information about Envy's relationship with his family, from his ignoring Gluttony to the fight with Ling. Al asked about Envy's relationship with Lust, his sister-Ed didn't really have any information on that yet.

"I guess I just can't really understand how a family could be so cold to each other..." Ed trailed off, removing his hand from his bruised head. "I mean, I know Hohenheim isn't the most passionate loving father, but from what I've heard Envy and his family absolutely hate each other... sounds pretty weird, right?" Alphonse nodded.

"Yeah. We've been closer than anything since I was born," he responded warmly. "It's only natural that you feel out of your element when confronted with a situation where two brothers hate each other. Even so, why did you jump into it like that?" Ed considered this.

"... I guess I just couldn't handle seeing them fight like that," he replied. "Even though they're not related, they're still brothers, and brothers should..." he trailed off again, deep in thought.

"They should love each other, right?" Al finished, smiling. Ed nodded, smiling back.

"Yeah, because they're family," Edward added, ruffling Alphonse's hair in a slightly desperate attempt to appear like the older brother to Al and not the other way around. "Anyways, maybe I'll talk to him about it sometime. But for now, I'll just focus on him not killing me after that look he had on his face." Ed began to chuckle a bit. Al looked at him questionably.

"What?" Ed asked.

"Brother, do you like Winry?" He asked, blushing a bit. Ed smirked.

"As a friend, but nothing more. Why do you ask?" He teased.

"Just asking, Ed!" Al said defensively, looking away.

"Someone likes Winry, someone likes Winry~!" Edward teased in a sing-song voice. Alphonse blushed again.

"Edwaaaard! Stop, someone's gonna hear!" He said, shushing his older brother. Ed laughed, and promised he'd stop for his brother's sake. He didn't press any further; Ed knew his younger brother wouldn't want to respond, nor did he exactly want to hear the details of Alphonse's likely fantasies about being with his sort-of sister.

"But Ed... if you don't like Winry, who _do _you like? Any girls in your grade?" Al asked. Ed contemplated the question.

"No girl has struck me as very interesting, nor have I found any girls sharing my interests," he said dismissively.

"... then, any guys?" Al asked again, with a faint smirk crossing his face. Now it was Ed's turn to blush.

"N-No! I mean, yeah, some guys are _interesting_, but I dunno if I would say _interested_, and uh... wait, no, I didn't... ARGHHH!" Ed growled, defeated. Alphonse started to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, brother, I get it," he responded, sparing Ed any more embarrassment. He glanced at his watch, and then stood up to leave. "It's getting around dinnertime, so I'm going back to my dorm. You should, too, Ed."

The older blonde nodded, and started to collect his things as Al left.

"Just tell me when you confess your love to him, 'kay?" He asked, not waiting for an answer. Edward growled a bit out of embarrassment, but then he sighed.

"Who could he be talking about?" He asked himself, as he picked up his bag and headed off to his respective dorm.


	8. Chapter 7

**Thank goodness for the weekend~! Now I'll have more time to write and submit chapters for all of you lovely people to read and hopefully enjoy :D I based the chemistry lab off of one that I've actually done... ehehehehe ^^'' Now, without further ado, please enjoy Chapter 7!**

* * *

-Chapter Seven- (two weeks later)

_Ahhh~!_ Ed thought blissfully, stretching his arms a bit during lunch. _Today is Friday, and soon there's the weekend...come to think of it,__ what am I gonna do this weekend? Maybe go to the library again, or go out to the local park... then again, during the past two weekends I haven't spent any time with Envy._ He inadvertently blushed at the name, thinking back to certain experiences he ran into with the black-haired teen. For the first weekend of the semester, Ed went out for lunch at a local restaurant with Winry, Paninya, Alphonse and Gluttony-and forgot to invite Envy. That night, Envy sat stewing on Edward's bed, refusing to budge and not even trying to respond to the apologetic teen. And whenever Ed attempted to lie down on his bed or Envy's bed, Envy made it so that he occupied both: Ed was forced to either sleep on the floor or weirdly situated around or on top of Envy; not able to obtain pillows, either, Edward managed to flop down next to the passive-aggressive and incredibly stubborn boy. Now, Ed remembered it a bit fondly, reminiscing how Envy silently tugged on his braid and then looked away when Ed noticed, acting as if nothing had happened. It was quite childish, actually.

Since Ed was loaded up with a project last weekend, he didn't get much of a chance to make it up to Envy. However, he decided that this weekend, he would somehow get Envy to go out with him somewhere.

Suddenly, Edward had the urge to squee like a little schoolgirl. Apparently the words "go out with him" had struck at a certain chord of Ed's that had begun to harbor an affection for the palm tree boy. However, not being aware of these feelings, Ed decided he was just going insane.

He suppressed the feeling, knowing full well he would attract many strange looks from his friends if he had followed through with the impulse.

"ALRIGHT, CHILDREN! Let's get started with our next lab!" Mr. Kimblee announced gleefully as he almost bounced into the lab room. Edward and Envy had long since been assigned as lab partners, and their desk was conveniently placed near the far side of the room, out of Kimblee's earshot, so the two could freely snicker at his enormous enthusiasm.

"Today we will be doing a special lab that heavily involves sticking chemicals into the Bunsen burner flame!" He continued, gesturing at the bottles of chemicals placed on every desk. "Your lab sheets are on the front desk, but I _highly_ suggest you take the matters into your own hands~!" He grinned, and instructed the class to get started. Upon obtaining their lab sheets, Ed and Envy looked over the steps together.

"So, I think we should actually follow the lab sheet, how about you?" Ed asked, turning to Envy. Envy made an incredulous face, not believing what he had just heard.

"WHAT? You're so boring, Ed! Didn't he _just_ say we could do what we want, including making a gigantic explosion?" Envy protested, pushing Edward a bit.

"I didn't hear that last part," he replied dismissively.

"But you know he was thinking it," Envy added. But as Ed sighed, Envy found no choice but to do as the blonde said for now if he wanted to get his way. _I'll make it look like an accident,_ he thought devilishly.

"So, what do we have to do?" Envy asked, leaning his head next to Ed's so that he could read the lab sheet. The blonde blushed, but didn't say a word. "Ah, so basically we're sticking splints soaked in chemicals into a flame, and then watching all the pretty colors." He said, glancing back at the many little bottles of chemicals, and then at the blushing boy's face. Envy grinned.

"You wanna start the flame up, Ed?" Envy asked, leaning in just enough to be an inch apart from the blonde's face. Edward nodded anxiously, keeping a stoic face, and went around to the other side of the lab table to get the Bunsen burner started.

_He's so cute,_ Envy thought as he collected the "appropriate" chemicals for the procedure. As Edward struck the igniter, a spark flew and ignited the escaping gas from the burner, creating a beautiful luminous flame.

"Nice job, shrimp," Envy complimented, only to get a glare from Ed that told him to shut up.

"I'm not a shrimp!" He said in a quiet roar, letting Envy know he was back to normal. "What's the first chemical?" Envy glanced at the lab sheet, and handed Ed a splint soaked in the first chemical.

"Lithium ions," the black-haired boy said, smiling. Ed nodded, and stuck the splint into the flame to create a ferocious red one. It only lasted for a second, but the small part of Envy that was coded for pyromania began to awaken.

"Whoaaaaaa." He said, dumbfounded, causing Edward to chuckle.

"Impressed?" The blonde asked, holding his hand out for the next splint. "What's the next one?"

Envy shook himself out of his trance, and then practically poured the next chemical over the thin piece of wood. "Copper ions," he responded, staring hungrily at the flickering flame. Ed laughed, and then stuck the wood into Envy's object of interest. This time, the flame turned into a bright turquoise color, climbing further up into the air until diminishing down to its regular state just a few seconds later. Envy would've squealed with glee and excitement if it wasn't for all the other students being around.

So the lab went, with Ed repeatedly sticking chemicals into the flame, making flickers of green and purple and orange spring into life as Envy watched with great delight. Only as time went on, Envy found himself starting to stare more at the blonde who was creating the beauty that he had previously been admiring.

_He looks so professional, what with those goggles and lab coat... _Envy thought, looking Ed up and down. _He's so in his element right now... I wonder what his weakness could be...?_ He snickered at the idea. _I guess if I'm going to fall for this little blonde chibi, I might as well know what makes him shaky at the knees 3._ He decided he would take the straightforward way first.

"O'Chibi-san, what's your biggest weakness?" Envy asked, just as Edward was about to put the last splint into the flame. The blonde flinched, and as a result the entire splint was dropped into the flame and ignited in yellows and reds. Without another moment's notice, Ed quickly shut off the gas and professionally tapped out the embers of the splint on the desk, acting as if nothing had happened. Envy looked on with a bit of admiration and a bit of disappointment: the splint hadn't exploded like he wanted it to.

"My biggest weakness? I wouldn't be able to tell you that," he said, coughing a bit from the smoke.

"Well, why not? Don't you trust me?" Envy said in a slightly seductive tone. Edward looked at him with a smirk on his face.

"No, Envy, I don't. You're the most untrustworthy person I've ever met," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Envy grinned, knowing full well that he would eventually get his answer... he thought, most likely, it wouldn't be the answer Ed gave him, but he dreamed about it all the same.

"Nah, but I can't tell you my weakness because I don't have one," Ed responded truthfully, compulsively winking at Envy. He looked completely cool and collected on the outside, but on the inside he was like this:

_OH MY GOD WHY DID I JUST WINK AT HIM? WHY IS HE ASKING ME ABOUT MY BIGGEST WEAKNESS? WHAT IS HE PLANNING? WHY AM I YELLING IN ALL CAPS AND IMAGINING IT THAT WAY INSIDE MY HEAD?_

"Awwww, come on, my little Ed..." Envy whined. "_Every_one has some sort of weakness! I bet it's being called short, is that it?" Ed's anger ignited faster than the splint.

"I AM NOT LITTLE! And that's not my weakness!" Edward protested. "And if _every_one has a weakness, what's _your_ weakness? Equivalent exchange, see?" He asked.

Envy considered this for a moment, and soon came up with an answer that he certainly was not ready to tell Ed at the present moment.

"Why should I tell you, if you won't tell me?" He retorted, hitting the ball back into Ed's field.

"Because I'm your best friend?" The blonde responded with a mocking tone in his voice, but he noticed a glint in Envy's eyes. A glint that meant something more than just friends. But, with Ed being as in denial as ever of his feelings, he resolved to ignore it.

"Ha! Yeah, sure, Ed," Envy joked, coming around to the same side of the table as the blonde, leaning close in again, just to see the smaller one blush. And so he did.

"E-Envy! What're you leaning in so close for?" Edward whispered urgently. "People might see and get the wrong idea!"

_Ooh, I like the sound of that~!_ Envy thought. _I'm leaning in so close to see that cute face of yours again, O'Chibi-san._ He thought of relaying his thoughts to the blonde he was currently seducing, but the little reason he had in his mind piped up again and said that wasn't a very good idea at this point.

"'Cause I feel like it," came Envy's ambiguous response. Ed sighed, trying to keep his heart rate down, and told Envy that they should start on the lab questions. Still staying relatively close to Ed, Envy obliged and worked through the questions with ease until the end of class. Kimblee dismissed them ill-naturedly, visibly disappointed that no explosions had been set off. Edward felt dreadfully sorry for the next class that Kimblee taught.

In Aerobics, Ed replaced his heart pounding with emotion with one pounding with exhaustion. The high amounts of hormones produced in that relatively close-contact time with Envy gave Edward a huge rush of adrenaline, powering him to shake off the energy through exercise. However, Ed would know full well he would come to regret the overexertion when his muscles ached the next morning.

During his final class, Creative Writing, Ed's teacher finally decided on their first writing project to start off the year, after 3 weeks of ambiguous free-writing. Ms. Sheska announced softly, "The first project of the year will have a main theme of 'My First Love.' It could be a realistic fiction or nonfiction story, or even a diary entry of sorts, about a first crush, or a first relationship, or even familial love, if you're that attached to someone." Upon hearing the assignment, Ed immediately thought of writing about how close he was to Al. But, somehow his mind repelled that idea for one that was more... romantic. This came to him as a slight shock, since to his knowledge he had never been in love with anyone and certainly hasn't had much of a romance life at all. Yet somehow, buried in the back of his mind, Edward knew that he wanted to write about the spiky-haired boy he roomed with. All that blocked him from doing so was the barrier he set up within his own mind.

"It'll be due 2 weeks from now, so work quickly!" Ms. Sheska finished, just as the bell rang to signal the end of Friday at school.

"See you all on Monday!"

As Edward began to head for the library, he stopped himself and thought back to the decision he made that morning. He was supposed to get Envy to go out with him over the weekend. His brain processed the phrase, "go out with him" once again, sending the impulse to squee like a girl, thus causing Ed to be freaked out by his own emotions again.

_What is going on with me...?_ He thought tiredly. Ed then looked around the campus. _Now, where would Envy normally be after school..._

As if the thought of him simply summoned him, Envy appeared behind the blonde and gave him a massive surprise hug.

"Hello again, O'Chibi-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan~!" He exclaimed gleefully, wrapping his arms tighter across Ed's chest. Edward blushed deeply, but somehow didn't find the strength to pry himself away from the taller boy. He blamed it on the aerobics class; the little section in the back of his mind unsuccessfully tried to tell Ed it was something else.

"Envy!" The blonde said, surprised, but still unmoving from Envy's arms. "I was meaning to, um... talk to you about something." Envy let go of him, only to spin him around to face him.

"What would that be, Ed?" Envy had a slight purr to his voice, which Ed chose to ignore.

"I was wondering if, um... if you, uh, would like to, ummm..." Edward struggled to find the right words without sounding awkward, which was ironic since his "ummmm"'s and "uh"'s were just dragging it out. Envy looked at him expectantly.

"Maybe, you wanna go somewhere this weekend?" The blonde finished, and with a shot of courage he looked straight into the taller male's eyes. He never noticed before, but Envy's eyes were colored a powerful shade of violet, with slight specks of blue here and there. The sun's light glittered across them like they were water; little bits of light scattered on his eyelashes, illuminating a slight rainbow color. The black-haired boy's eyes were absolutely astonishing.

At the same time, Envy stared down into the blonde's eyes. They were an unusual color: a pure gold. However, Envy couldn't talk; his eyes were a strange color, too. Despite the unusualness, Envy found himself entranced and absorbed into Edward's eyes, losing himself and feeling his heart pounding. The look in the boy's eyes was a mixture of wanting and- could he say it?- loving. The black-haired boy soon found himself chuckling and smiling ear to ear.

"What?" Ed asked defensively, breaking the intense moment between the two.

_You're so cute,_ Envy thought.

"Sure, I'll go somewhere with you," Envy responded, nicking Edward on the shoulder a bit. "Where do you want to go?"

Without thinking much, the shorter boy responded, "Lunch and a movie?" He then blushed, realizing what he said. But Envy only smiled more, freeing the blonde of any worries.

"Sounds good. Tomorrow, first thing?"

Ed nodded, smiling. "Sounds cool to me." With that, the two walked back to their dorms together, exhibiting symptoms of what one could only call utter infatuation, which would grow into something more, if only they realized that the one opposite them felt the exact same way.


	9. Chapter 8

**Where did my weekend go? I based Ed's t-shirt off of one from XKCD; check it out, it's awesome ^_^ Either way, here is part one of the big date-ish thing... enjoy, my lovely readers! **

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-Chapter Eight-

The night before, Edward experienced no troubling dreams that woke him up at any ungodly hours. On the contrary, he slept better than any other night at the dorm. As he awoke, bleary-eyed, he turned to find that Envy's bed was empty and neatly made.

"Envy...?" He mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Where... are you...?" He clumsily climbed out of bed and made his way to Envy's; on top of the pillow, the black-haired boy had left a carefully written note.

_Dear my Chibi-san,_

_Since it's 8:30 and you still haven't woken up yet, I'm going to grab some breakfast at the dining hall. Meet me at the gate on the east side of campus. Don't keep me waiting too long, or else you'll pay the price! :D_

_Envy_

"He seriously wrote an emoticon...?" Ed said in disbelief. But as his brain started to properly wake up, it began to process the phrase, "Don't keep me waiting too long, or else you'll pay the price!"

_Pay the price..._

_Pay the price..._

In a burst of blind adrenaline, Edward's eyes dashed towards the side table where the clock was. Of course, the clock Ed was looking for simply did not exist, for Envy had long since smashed it to pieces.

"What time is it?" He anxiously asked himself, searching through his suitcase for his cellphone. His panic only lengthened the amount of time it took for him to find the object, causing him to panic even more and search even more frantically. After 10 minutes of searching, the blonde finally located his phone and checked the time.

To his utter despair, the numbers "10:30" blared back at him, sealing his fate to suffer whatever punishment Envy had in store for him. Not 20 seconds after this realization, Edward had dressed himself, grabbed his phone and wallet, and was halfway to the eastern gate.

He spotted the eastern gate, and an incredibly bored Envy leaning up against a wall, as his heart started to pound and his blood rushed to his face.

_Okay, relax, Ed. Maybe Envy will go easy on you,_ Edward reasoned, but as he approached the black-haired boy, his heart began to sink.

"H... Hi, Envy..." Edward greeted nervously. Envy looked him up and down, not making any facial expressions. The blonde looked very messy, which came as a surprise to Envy in comparison to his normal perfection. He wore a black t-shirt that said in white letters: "Stand back, I'm going to try science", combined with a pair of red jeans, an oversized red hoodie, and sneakers. He blushed under Envy's gaze, taking note of Envy's outfit as well. The taller boy's hair was even more spiky than usual, and the owner of it wore a black tank-top and white skinny jeans. Ed found himself admiring Envy's lean arm muscles that were perfectly complimented by the shirt he wore.

"Um..." Ed blushed again, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, feeling the awkward silence beat down on his head. Envy continued to stare at him, as if to decide what kind of torture to inflict upon the blonde.

"... I like how you look in casual clothes, Ed," Envy said, breaking the silence. He walked over to the blonde, his muscular arms swaying side to side, and hooked one around the shorter boy. "I'd say that the shirt suits you."

"You... you're not gonna kill me?" Edward asked nervously, not moving from under Envy's arm. Envy laughed.

"Nah, I'm not gonna kill you. And do you know why?" He asked, with a slight seductive purr in his voice.

"Why would that be, Envy?" Ed asked, his eyes lighting up in excitement of what response could come.

"Because _you're _paying for this date," Envy announced playfully, releasing Edward and grabbing him by the hand. "It's already around lunch, so we might as well go eat first and then go to the movies." He smiled, causing the blonde to impulsively smile back.

"Got any place in mind?" He asked, not noticing the increasingly flirtatious tone in both his and Envy's voices.

"Eh, we'll find somewhere nice," Envy responded, pulling Ed behind him out through the gate and into the town surrounding the school.

_I'm not gonna say it yet, O'Chibi-san,_ Envy thought. _I can see it in your eyes that it's what you so want to hear. But you have to wait until it's time~_

"This place look good, Envy?" Edward asked, gesturing towards a restaurant in front of the two. The awning announced, "Stella's West European Restaurant and Café," and Edward could already smell the delicious food that was cooking inside.

"Looks good, O'Chibi-san," Envy responded, inspecting the menu that was hanging in the window. "Price looks good for you, too." He grinned maliciously at his little credit card, who sighed with his hand pressing against his head. He quickly recoiled, the bruise on his temple still sensitive despite it being over 2 weeks old.

"You okay, Ed?" Envy asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Edward reassured, his hand lightly brushing against Envy's back. "Let's go in."

The two were seated at a table behind a huge window, revealing their presence to every passersby. Yet, Edward surprisingly found no reason to be embarrassed to be seen with Envy. A few minutes later, they were ready to order.

"Alright, so I'll have the beef stew with potatoes, a side of curly fries, a Shirley Temple, and some apple pie for dessert," Ed ordered, reading off the delectable foods from the menu. He gestured towards the waitress to Envy, indicating it was time for him to order.

"I'll have a, uh... steak, mozzarella, and tomato panini, a side of fresh strawberries, and a chocolate parfait for dessert," Envy said meekly, handing his and Ed's menus to the waitress. She nodded, took the menus, and walked off with their orders.

"A parfait?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know you liked sweet stuff like that." Envy's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink, but he soon resumed his cool and natural behavior.

"Well, now you do," he responded, playing around with his fork a bit.

"By the way, aren't you a bit cold in just a, um... tank-top?" Ed questioned, trying to avert his eyes to avoid staring again.

"Not in the least. I'm rather hot-blooded," the black-haired boy responded, smirking.

"Are you sure? Because it's almost 50 degr-" Ed stopped, and turned around in his seat to see a group of girls he recognized from school. He guessed from their frantic giggling that moments ago they were staring at the two of them, probably starting some gossip.

"Took you a while to notice them," Envy said, pointing at the girls with his fork. "I tend to be a bit more perceptive when it comes to people giving me strange looks." _And those looks would be...?_ Ed wondered, but kept the question to himself.

"I guess so... what gossip do you think they're cooking up now?" The blonde muttered irritably.

"Probably that you and me are a couple," the spiky-haired boy responded casually, making sure to look incredibly interested in his fork so that he could avoid eye contact with the now blushing boy opposite him.

"Ah... yeah..." Ed stuttered, unable to collect his thoughts into coherent sentences.

_That confirms it,_ Envy thought, inwardly grinning widely. _Now I know, I have to do this today. _

Soon enough the food arrived, and the two boys dug in. Edward marveled at the rich taste of the beef stew and the tenderness of the potatoes, taking note that the restaurant food was better than the private school food, which said quite a bit. As Envy was finishing off the first half of his panini, he glanced at the table of girls to find them staring at him and Ed again.

_What the fuck is __**their**__ problem?_ Envy thought irately. _What, do they want us to start making out right here, just so they could say they're right? Damn girls..._ _why can't they be a bit more like Lust? Cool, calm, collected; not giggly and squeal-y about their sick fantasies... well, then again, those fantasies could come true one day,_ he thought devilishly, his eyes turning back to the happily eating Edward.

"Enjoyable?" Envy asked, smirking. Ed nodded enthusiastically, taking another bite into the rich stew. He took a curly fry from his plate and offered it to Envy.

"You want?" He asked. It took all of Envy's sensibility and conscientiousness of his current situation not to ask the blonde to feed it to him, with his mouth opened to accept the treat.

"Yeah, thanks," was all he said, as he invited himself to the fries still on the plate. Edward blocked him from getting away with it.

"Hey! Don't steal all my fries! Just eat a couple!" The blonde protested, tossing that number of fries onto Envy's plate. The black-haired boy emitted a mock-dissapointed "aww" and then continued to eat.

When they were finished, the waitress arrived with their respective desserts and took their plates away to be washed. Ed eyed his mini-apple pie hungrily, causing Envy to burst out laughing.

"You're gonna eat the entire thing, even after eating that whole bowl of stew?" He asked sillily, taking his spoon and dipping it into the parfait. Edward grinned somewhat defensively.

"What? I _like_ apple pie," he responded, taking the first bite of his dessert. The warm sensation of apples and cinnamon invaded his senses, saturating his taste buds in all of its deliciousness. Edward could not hid that fact that he was utterly blissed out. Envy experienced a similar sensation when he scooped his favorite food into his mouth, feeling the chocolatey goodness overwhelm him.

"... whoa." The two muttered simultaneously out of surprise at their desserts' goodness.

"This is probably the best parfait I've ever tasted," Envy concluded, taking another bite. "It's like the chocolate fairies decided to frolic on my taste buds and dance with the strawberry syrup princesses..."

Ed laughed at the black-haired boy's ridiculous analogy. "With a description like that, _you_ should be the one in my creative writing class, not me," Edward responded, continuing to indulge himself his his pie. Envy looked at him questionably.

"You're in Creative Writing?" He snorted, covering his mouth with his hand to unsuccessfully try to prevent himself from laughing. "How'd you get put in there?"

"STOP LAUGHING!" Ed yelled embarrassedly, accidentally flipping his fork off the table and into his lap. "I didn't choose to be put there, they just did because I'm a transfer student!" Envy continued to suppress his laughter.

"You don't have any musical talent?" He asked, daring to take another bite of his parfait.

"... well, no..." the blonde responded, blushing. Envy nodded, reassuring him he wasn't laughing at that fact.

"Why _are_ you laughing, then?" Ed questioned, kicking the black-haired boy playfully under the table.

"I can only imagine what your writing would be like... what's your first project?" At the mention of the project, Ed's face turned a deep shade of red.

"It's... nothing," he responded, only causing Envy to ask him again.

"Come on, tell meeee!" The boy teased, scooping out the last of his parfait from the glass. "Pleaaaase?"

"No! It's... it's personal-ish..." Ed finished off the last of his apple pie, avoiding Envy's gaze. "I'll go pay the check; you wait here." Without waiting for a response, Edward speed-walked away from the table with his heart in his throat.

_Relax, Ed, relax, Ed, R-E-L-A-X, Edward Elric!_ He shouted inwardly, trying to calm himself down. _Stop blushing! Why are you blushing? Why can't you tell Envy? __**What is up with you?**_ He took out his wallet and walked up to the front counter. As the hostess brought up his bill on the computer, the blonde considered his last question.

_What __**is**__ up with me?_ He asked again. _Every time I'm with Envy, I just... I can't stop smiling, when he's close to me I can't stop blushing and my heart pounds, and even when he calls me short or hits me, I... I can't seem to stop thinking about him..._ As he handed the hostess his money, he reached his conclusion via a very sped-up scientific method.

_Do I... do I like Envy?_

He walked back to the table to find Envy grinning at him for an unknown reason.

"What's up with _you_?" The black-haired teen asked, getting up from his seat.

"You tell me," the blonde responded, gesturing towards the front door of the restaurant. "Come on, let's go find a movie theater."


	10. Chapter 9

**If I was happier, I would've exploded already. You fabtastical humans, sending me all these emails of story alerts and the occasional review X3 You make my day and I'm glad you all like my story. Please enjoy Chapter 9, and review if you like~!**

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-Chapter Nine-

After about 20 minutes of walking around town, the two boys finally located a movie theater. But as they walked in, Ed came to the stunning realization that he had no idea what movies were out at that time.

"Uh, Envy?" He called, grasping the spiky-haired boy's attention.

"What's up?"

"Do you have any idea what movie you wanna see?" Ed asked, shuffling awkwardly on the theater carpet. Envy thought about this.

"Huh. I guess that makes both of us who didn't think about it," he responded casually. "We might as well see what's there, right?" The blonde nodded, and the two approached the box office and examined the movies that were playing.

"Wanna see _Titanic in 3D_, Edward?" Envy joked, nudging Ed in the side. Ed chuckled and responded with a definite, "no."

"What? Why not?" Envy asked, feigning disappointment. "You got something against Leonardo DiCaprio?"

"No, not at all, I quite liked his roles in _Romeo + Juliet_ and _Inception_," Ed commented, still examining the electronic sign with movie names. Envy looked surprised.

"_You_ watched _Inception_?" He said incredulously. "And you weren't so confused by the plot to _ignore everything?_ You're impressive, shrimp."

"FOR THE LAST TIME, DON'T CALL ME A SHRIMP, YOU PALM TREE!" Edward yelled, punching Envy in the arm. Seeing this as a perfect time to get his way, Envy crumpled to the floor and started to sob.

"E-Edward... that really, really hurt... why did you punch me so hard? It's so painful, Ed..." he cried, beginning to attract dirty looks directed towards Ed from passersby. The blonde immediately became self-conscious, and kneeled down next to Envy, looking very worried.

"Envy, I'm sorry," he mumbled, the blood rushing to his cheeks again. "I'm sorry, we can see _Titanic_ if you want, I'm sorry..." Suddenly, Envy burst out of his sad act and pulled Ed up with him in a big hug.

"YAY~! I'm so happy, Ed! Yay-yay-yayyy~!" He squealed, letting go of Ed and running up to the box office to get two tickets. Edward stood there, fuming and ashamed that Envy tricked him like that _again._ But somehow, he couldn't help grinning at how Envy looked when he was smiling. He was almost... cute. The blonde blushed at the thought, and walked up to where Envy was.

"You're going to need some money for that, Envy," he commented, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. But, it wasn't there. Right before he started to panic, Envy waved his wallet in front of his eyes to show he had it.

"Don't flip your shit so quickly, Ed. I already paid, so let's go get some popcorn and candy," he said, hooking his arm around Ed's shoulders and ushering him away. Edward didn't respond right away; his mind was occupied by the fact that he was wrapped close to Envy by the boy's arm.

"... you're evil, Envy," he muttered, grinning devilishly.

"And proud to be, Ed," Envy responded, staring into the eyes of the blonde and smiling before he broke away to go buy snacks.

About an hour later, the two boys had bought snacks, entered the theater and starting watching the movie. Ed saw from a poster that, to his displeasure, the movie was over 3 hours long. It had only been 30 minutes since the movie had started, until Envy started nudging him for attention. Luckily for the black-haired boy, he and Ed had seated themselves in the back of the theater, where not many other people could be bothered with his banter.

"Ed." He whispered.

"What now?" The blonde whispered back irately.

"I'm bored." Envy heard the sound of a hand hitting a forehead, letting him know that Edward just facepalmed.

"Are you fucking serious?" Edward whispered back fiercely. "After that entire scene you pulled in the lobby, _now_ you tell me _you're bored_?"

"Yes," Envy said nonchalantly.

"And you're expecting me to do something about it?"

"Yes."

"What do you propose I do?" Envy thought about this for a moment, trying to come up with one of the most embarrassing dares he could for the already irritated blonde. He considered telling him to perform certain sexual favors for him, but even Envy knew that would not ever end in his favor.

"Figure it out," was all he said, grinning to himself and the fact that his little blonde roommate just got more irritated.

_**SHIT**__. I __**knew**__ going to the movies would be a bad idea. What do I do now? What do I do now? _Edward thought frantically, slowly becoming more and more aware of the fact that he did harbor feelings for Envy and that he wasn't looking like a very good boyfriend at the moment. _Wait, what? I'm not even sure he likes me back! Why am I assuming I could ever __**become**__ his boyfriend? I mean, sure, he seems like he likes me sometimes, but he's just Envy and why am I being condescending to myself, saying I __**couldn't**__ become his boyfriend and __why __can't __I __just __get __my __mind __to __work __properly__?_

Next thing Edward knew, about 20 more minutes had passed and he was still going around in circles inside his head. He cursed his father for the lovely gift of constantly over-thinking things. He turned to look at Envy, and found that his sleeping face was barely an inch away from leaning on his shoulder. _Dammit, why are movie theater seats so close together?_ Edward thought frantically, blushing more than ever. He noticed for the first time how tired Envy looked. He had circles under his eyes and it seemed like his skin was getting paler than it already was. But while he was looking at Envy, he couldn't help but marvel of how beautiful the black-haired boy was. His skin was like porcelain, which made the dark colors he wore flatter him even more. He was so _skinny_, too, but yet he was still somewhat broad-chested and muscular. Ed noticed that Envy's hair was slightly greenish in tint, despite it looking to be black. He found that odd, but it added to the spiky-haired boy's beauty all the same. He looked so peaceful and quiet when he was asleep; so much different than the dramatic and expressive face he put on when he was awake. Yet, Edward noticed something about Envy's sleeping face: it looked almost sad. Sad, as in, Envy was experiencing a dream that troubled him, or that when he wasn't being outwardly dramatic, he was... actually sad. The impact of this discovery affected the blonde so much, he didn't resist the impulse to lean over and plant the lightest kiss on Envy's cheek.

Not a few moments later, the black-haired boy's eyes opened to reveal himself to the realm of the living. He turned to Ed, who was already looking the exact opposite way, and wondered exactly what just happened. He felt a slight sensation on his left cheek, but he couldn't decipher what it was.

_Did... did Ed just... kiss me?_ He wondered surprisedly. Despite his hypothesis on Ed's feelings, Envy couldn't helped but feel shocked at the action the blonde took. It sent a flutter into his heart and a swarm of butterflies into his stomach. He felt like he could do anything in the universe.

"Hey, Ed?" Envy asked, pawing at Ed's arm a bit.

"What?" The blonde responded, desperately trying to keep his cool.

"What do you say to ditching this place and going to the park near the school?" Envy proposed. "You know, the one with the gazebos and the little lake?" As much as Envy disliked the town they went to school in (and, in fact, the school even more so), he had to hand it to the park designers to create a perfect place for Envy's perfect plan. Edward looked at the teen with almost glowing violet eyes, and nodded happily.

"Sure, let's go." And so the two upped and left, with Edward grabbing the popcorn bags and candy wrappers while Envy insisted to leave them for the theater employees to pick up. As Edward argued, he claimed, "It's their job anyways, O'Chibi-san." They threw out the garbage and exited the theater, temporarily blinded from the difference in light levels. While still recovering from the glare of the sun, Edward failed to notice Envy smiling at him in one of the most loving yet devilish ways possible.


	11. Chapter 10

**Aaaargh! Sorry for such a late update, my teachers are hating on me ;A; Either way, THANK YOU MY LOVELY READERS! I love your reviews and your story alerts and your favorites that happily fill up my inbox ^o^ But most of all, I love _you_ guys! Though, I have a warning for this chapter: Envy's language does get a bit out of hand. But only for a bit! **

**Now, after that long author's note, I not-so-humbly present you with Chapter 10! Enjoy, my chiblettes~! **

* * *

-Chapter Ten-

Envy and Ed made their way back to the school grounds, only to turn in another direction to go to the local park. The sign on the iron fence proclaimed, "Lakeside Sanctuary; No littering or unauthorized feeding of the animals." It was early evening by that time; Edward's phone told him it was exactly 5:16PM. The air was a bit chilly for September, but nonetheless Envy exhibited no signs of being cold. A healthy breeze swept through the tall oak trees that lined the asphalt path the two walked on, rustling the leaves and scattering twigs that lay on the ground. The leaves had just started to turn, giving the park a slightly yellow color. A light scent of rain was in the air; Edward guessed its origin was the lake that stood at the center of the lush sanctuary. Envy found that there could not have been a more perfect day.

"It sure is quiet," Edward commented. "It's kind of nice." Envy looked at him, and gave him a small smile.

"It's fabtastical," he agreed. The blonde chuckled. The two continued to walk in silence, gradually making their way to the glassy lake where gazebos were dotted around the edges. Ed noticed that almost all of them were occupied by couples or bigger groups of friends; he came to realize how incredibly homosexual he and Envy looked together. Yet, something inside of him told him that there was no reason for him to be embarrassed by that fact.

The setting sun's light glittered across the stagnant lake, unaffected by the blowing wind. Envy searched around the border of the body of water, and upon spotting an empty gazebo, he pulled Edward by the hand to go into it. Each of the wooden structures were relatively far apart, but Envy felt a bit self-conscious about executing his plan when he was surrounded by other people. However, he was reassured by the fact that the blonde had no problem with it.

"Hey, Envy?" Ed called, causing the black-haired boy to immediately respond due to his heightened heart rate.

"Yeah, Ed?" He responded.

"Aren't you a bit cold? I could give you my jacket, or something," he answered, the volume of his voice decreasing along with his confidence in the sentence. Envy chuckled.

_Trying to pull _that_ move on me?_ He responded inwardly, chuckling.

"Didn't I tell you before? I'm hot-blooded," he said simply, leaning his elbows on the edge of the gazebo wall that faced the lake. The blonde blushed, but then he loosened his braid to feel the wind whisk through it. He sighed in pleasure. Envy stole a look at the boy, watching his golden hair whip around in the wind. He had never seen it down before; at least, not from what he could remember.

"I love windy days like this," he said, turning to Envy. The black-haired boy nodded, feeling the wind brush through his messy hair as well.

"Same." Was his response. The two stood in silence again, just staring out towards the lake and watching a couple of ducks swim by. A thought came to Envy's mind; one that would speed up the process leading up to his big plan that he refused to disclose, even in his inner monologue.

"So, O'Chibi-san," he began playfully. "What _was_ that project you were assigned in Creative Writing? You never told me." He saw the blush rise on Ed's face. "Can you at least tell me the _subject?_"

"N-No, it's too personal..." the blonde responded embarrassedly.

"Aww, come on, Ed. It can't be _that_ personal if you're expected to hand it in and perhaps read it aloud," Envy reasoned, attempting to use logos on the analytical blonde to get his way. Edward considered this.

"But still, it's just... kinda embarrassing, that's all," Ed responded, still stubborn. However, what Ed didn't know was that Envy actually knew what the assignment was: he had overheard Lust and her acquaintance Lan Fan talking about the project the latter was assigned, but he feigned ignorance just so he could coax Edward into saying it, thus leading into the next step of his plan. It was a bit sadistic, but Envy never cared about being seen that way. He quite enjoyed that image, if that could be said.

"Well, at least tell me the general topic," Envy pressed, edging a bit closer to the blonde.

"...emotions," Ed responded reluctantly, keeping it as ambiguous as possible.

"What kind of emotions?"

"Emotions that you feel."

"_Feeling _emotions_?_ That's so weird, I would've never thought!" Envy responded sarcastically, grinning to let Edward know he was kidding. "Is there a _specific_ emotion?"

"Yeah," Ed remained incredibly ambiguous and secretive. This was going to be harder than Envy thought.

"What _is_ it?"

"A... relatively good emotion." Envy was losing his patience. He stepped right next to Ed, swung his head in front of Edward's eyes, and stared right into his soul.

"And the name of that emotion would be?" He asked, not blinking. The boy with golden eyes stared back amusedly, slightly smiling and blushing at the same time.

"It's something you might not have heard of, it's called love." Ed responded with a bit of sarcasm. There it was. With just a stare into the eyes, Envy had seduced the smaller blonde into saying what he wanted.

"Oh? What kind of love?" Envy pressed on, continuing to stare into those golden, glittering eyes.

"I can't tell you that, Envy," the blonde smiled, regaining his stubbornness and starting to tease the impatient teen, who was practically in front of him now.

"And why's that?"

"It's tooooooo personal," he responded coolly, yet Envy could see the blush rising on his face again. He would have to press further. And that meant he would have to get closer. Not that he minded, of course.

"Ah, Envy..." Ed voiced, as Envy placed both his arms on Ed's shoulders, left and right respectively.

"Tell me, my little Mark Antony, who refuses to disclose information to the audience with the intention of only making them want it more," Envy grinned.

"You're such a Shakespeare nerd," Edward joked.

"I'm proud of that fact, too," Envy said, not removing his arms from the blonde's shoulders. "Now tell me, before I get angry and flip a shit in front of everyone here and embarrass you." The words were threatening, but something about the tone in his voice told Ed that the spiky-haired boy wouldn't do such a thing. Then again, he really, really didn't want to risk it.

"It's a creative writing project about..." The heat rose to his face, causing him to lose a bit of confidence. But Envy boosted it again.

"Uh huh?" He asked, moving his face a bit close to Ed's.

"It's about a first love," the blonde finished, averting his eyes and blushing like mad. _Shiiiiiiiit..._ he thought, disappointed in his failure to remain stubborn. Envy's eyes lit up as he began to move closer to his goal.

"Is that so?" Envy grinned, removing his arms from Edward and leaning them behind him on the ledge. "What're you gonna write about? Fiction or non-fiction?" The thing about this question was that Ed hadn't fully considered it. So, he responded truthfully.

"No idea."

"Seriously?" Envy responded, disappointed.

"Yeah." Envy hadn't expected this. What he _did_ expect was a selection of one of the two, which then he would ask what would be the subject, and then... the resolution of his plan. But now, he had to do like an actor in a fast-failing show and improvise. He decided to get right to the point. While he was thinking, Ed moved next to him and was staring dreamily out at the lake again. Envy turned around to face the lake as well.

"Hey, Ed?"

"Yeah, Envy?"

"Remember this morning, when I said I wouldn't kill you because you were paying for the date?" Edward nodded, turning to look at the boy whose own face was starting to turn pink.

"Yeah?"

"Well... that wasn't the real reason I wouldn't kill you." He turned to the blonde, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"What's the, um... real reason?" Edward asked, hardly holding back the excitement in his voice.

"The real reason... is because I li-" Suddenly, an overly loud ringtone emanated from Edward's pocket, startling the two into almost screaming. The blonde fumbled around a bit, grabbing his phone from his pocket, and answered it.

"Hello?" He asked, turning away from Envy, who was absolutely furious on the inside.

_HOLY FUCKING FUCK! I WAS SO FUCKING CLOSE AND THEN THE FUCKING PHONE RINGS! FUCKING FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK! _He thought viciously, with the anger creating a scowl across his face.

"Oh, hey, Al," Ed said into the receiver, going off into conversation. _That cockblock..._ Envy thought horridly. "You're going out for dinner? With who?... Ah, I see. Uh, well, I'm with Envy right now so... Oh, he can come? One sec." The blonde turned towards the black-haired boy, with a very apologetic look in his eyes.

"Envy, would you like to -"

"Yeah, whatever," Envy said sharply, but immediately regretted it when he saw the hurt look develop in those golden eyes. The owner of them nodded sadly, and said into the phone, "Yeah, we'll see you there. What time?... Ah, okay. See you soon, Al." He clicked a button on his phone, and replaced it in his pocket. He didn't turn to Envy yet, but he could feel the boy's violet eyes bore holes into his back.

"Umm... are you, um... are you okay, Envy?" Edward asked nervously, afraid of another bark that could come from the boy he was so infatuated with.

"... yeah. I'm, uh, sorry I snapped at you, I just..." Envy began. "Uh... I'm just sorry." The surprise from the profuse apologies caused Ed to spin around to face Envy.

"It's okay, but are you sure you're okay?" The blonde asked anxiously. Envy stood up straight, and approached Edward.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said simply.

"... okay. But... what were you about to say?" Envy's heart thumped, causing him to blush a bit.

"I... it's nothing. I'll tell you later," he responded, disappointed that the moment he was waiting for was ruined by Ed's younger brother. It seemed that he would have to improvise _again._ He sighed in an Edward-like fashion, and then took the boy by the hand. "Where're we going for dinner?"

Edward blushed, and said, "Some place around the school. It's sushi, so... do you like sushi?" As if in response, Envy's stomach growled. Ed chuckled at the perfect timing. At that moment, the blonde took the initiative to pull Envy by the hand out of the gazebo and through to the end of the park. Envy still held a strong sense of irritation, but even so, he couldn't ignore the warm feeling in his heart that was caused by the sheer fact that his little blonde boy was willingly holding his hand.


	12. Chapter 11

**Oy, finally got around to posting! ^_^ I won't say much today; I'll let this chapter speak for me. Enjoy~!**

* * *

-Chapter Eleven-

It was only a five-minute walk from the park to the sushi venue, but even so it felt like a century to Edward since the two did not speak a word. But, despite the awkwardness, it gave Ed a bit of time to think about the angry state Envy was in.

_What was he going to say to me?_ He thought, glancing at the sulking teen. _And... why is he so angry that he won't tell me now?_ He blushed, thinking about how close the two of them were only minutes ago. Not so deep in his heart, Edward so wanted to feel the touch of Envy's skin on him once again, to feel his breath brush against his cheek... The blonde simply could not get the black-haired boy off his mind.

They arrived at the restaurant, only to find that Al, Paninya, Winry and Gluttony had already been seated at a table in the center of the restuarant. The four greeted them cheerfully, getting only a mediocre response from the newcomers. However, based on the sour face Envy was making, they decided not to question it. The restaurant was quite crowded with both students and teachers alike, all talking together as if they were the best of friends. Ed assumed the behavior was normal; as long as they weren't in school, students and teachers could almost be friends. _Then again, maybe not,_ he thought, as he witnessed a teacher scold a student who was probably a senior.

Dinner passed uneventfully, with Alphonse and Winry talking it up, Edward and Paninya quietly observing them in an unsaid mutual agreement that developments were yet to come, and even Gluttony starting to talk more about himself. But, with Envy being Envy, the black-haired teen quietly sulked.

_How am I ever supposed to get us into a moment like that again?_ He thought, plopping his chin down into his hand. _It's not like a perfect time like that comes along every day. Should I try again tonight, or find another time tomorrow...? _He frowned. _God dammit, why is this so hard? What's stopping me from just proclaiming it to him right now in front of everyone here?_ Envy looked around, then at Alphonse, then at Gluttony, and finally at Ed.

_That's right. Expressing my true emotions has done nothing but hurt me... But maybe, just this time... can I finally get something amazing out of what has caused so much pain?_

After dinner, the six of them walked back to the campus gates together, and then split up to their respective dorms. Envy and Edward were alone again, and the black-haired boy was going to take advantage of this moment for all it's got.

"Edward?" He spoke with an accidental nervous tone in his voice. The blonde turned to him, a bit surprised and a bit happy that Envy was speaking again.

"Yeah, Envy?" He responded quietly but sweetly. At the sound of such a honey-filled voice, the spiky-haired boy's confidence melted away to sheer infatuation. He quickly made the decision to go for the "meek and adorable" approach for a little bit. A character that he most certainly could have some fun with, and even more so when seeing the little blonde's reaction.

"I'm... I'm kinda cold. Can I have your jacket, please?" The effect on Edward was immediate. At the sound of such a sweet yet unbearably cute voice caused the blood to rise to his face once again. Without a word, he removed his jacket and held it out to Envy.

"Don't... Don't make any jokes about my jacket's size..." he said preemptively, not looking at black-haired boy. Envy, in turn, slid up to Ed and hooked his arms through the ones of the hoodie, causing Edward to automatically admire the taller boy's magnificent figure. Just what Envy wanted: to be gazed upon with eyes that saw his beauty.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Ed," he said, smiling, and zipped up the red jacket. It smelled faintly of coconut and açai; perhaps it was the smell of Edward's shampoo? Envy couldn't help but giggle a bit at the fact that the blonde had such a... _girly_ scent. Nonetheless, the spiky-haired boy enjoyed it immensely.

They arrived at the dorm building together, looking absolutely and perfectly gay together in front of the few guys that were lounging around in the lobby. While Ed didn't seem to notice, Envy could almost feeling their burning stares pierce through the coat he wore. He inevitably scowled, shooting a look at the boys that said, _"If you say a fucking word against us, you'll die." _Envy glanced over at Edward, who was perfectly oblivious to the entire situation.

_If I wasn't falling for this kid, I would say he's absolutely dense,_ the black-haired boy thought. _Or at least he's incredibly good at hiding that he knows anything at all._

Upon entering their room of 615, Envy immediately flopped down on Edward's bed and kicked off his shoes with ease. He also (reluctantly) removed Ed's jacket and tossed it at the owner. The blonde sighed.

"You could at least try and aim for your _own_ bed, Envy," he said sarcastically, throwing the jacket off to the side and removing his own shoes.

"Yeah, but that would require effort on _my _part," the other responded, still not moving from the blonde's bed. "Besides, would you be so cold-hearted as to ask your poor old Envy move across that canyon of a space between our beds after such a tiring day?" He then gave Ed the most fake yet still the cutest face he could produce. Despite being aware of the total fakery, Edward couldn't help but blush.

"N-No..." he mumbled, moving over to his bed and sitting down next to the sprawled out Envy. Ed mumbled something else that Envy couldn't hear, causing the spiky-haired boy to sit up and edge closer to the blonde one.

"What'd you say?" He asked, tilting his head a bit in a way that made Ed's heart pound, so much so that Envy could hear it. Edward mumbled again, as his face turned redder and Envy's curiosity grew.

"You're mumbling." The violet-eyed boy stated, poking Ed in the cheek. "Speak louder, small one, so this boy with blackened hair and plum-colored eyes may receive your information."

"I'M NOT SMALL!" The blonde shouted, grabbing at Envy's shoulders and wrestling around with him for a bit.

"Whoa, okay, not that loud," Envy said, grinning in a slightly evil way. The two's hands joined as they pushed against each other with all their strength, with neither overtaking the other. "You're stronger than you look, aren't you?"

"I used to... train a bit... with Alphonse... when we were... younger!" Ed growled, but the growing smile and the knotted eyebrows on his face betrayed his aggressive voice.

_Despite him saying he was tired, he's pretty energetic, if you ask me,_ Edward thought, struggling as he felt Envy's strength conquer his own. The black-haired boy pushed Ed back, causing the two to go flipping off the bed and onto the floor.

Lucky for Edward, the reflexive shock of falling to the floor gave him just enough time to use it to his advantage. He slipped out from under Envy's grasp, flipped over, and pinned the black-haired boy down by the shoulders.

"Gotcha!" He said, grinning competitively at the boy beneath him.

"Yes, indeed, shrimp," Envy said, teasing the blonde just a bit more. But before Ed could rebuke, Envy continued speaking. "My, my, haven't we seen a situation like this before?" He purred, mischievously staring into Edward's eyes, causing the blonde's face to turn bright red.

"Y-yeah, I guess we have..." he mumbled, breaking away from Envy's gaze.

"Though, I don't exactly mind being like this..." the spiky-haired boy muttered, shifting a bit under Ed's grip to make eye contact with him. Their gazes met again, locking them together in frozen time; Edward's strength was beginning to slack from his captivation. Feeling this immediately, Envy took no time to turn the tables and pin the once dominating blonde down on the floor beneath him.

"But I prefer this much better~!" He laughed. Ed scowled, feeling like an idiot once again for letting Envy manipulate him like that.

"You manipulative bastard..." he grumbled, the blush draining away from his face.

"Manipulative bastard? _Me?_ I was only voicing my thoughts, O'Chibi-san," Envy responded, still smiling wide. _Now is my time! _He thought, his heart racing as he looked down into the eyes of the boy he so wanted to embrace. "Say, E-"

"You know, this kinda reminds me of a time with Alphonse," Ed commented, looking back up at Envy and chuckling. "One time, Al grabbed the last piece of apple pie that Winry's grandma made, and we both fought over it until we were both on the floor laughing and pinning each other down fo-" He stopped, noticing that Envy's eyes had turned cold and hurt. He had long broken the gaze with the smaller boy, and now was looking incredibly pissed off.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked worriedly.

"... why do you talk about your brother all the time?" The black-haired boy responded coldly. "It's like he's the only person who actually matters to you. You keep babying him like he's still a litt-" With that, Ed's anger erupted into a hotter one than ever seen before. He shifted his feet under Envy's stomach, kicked him off and into the bed frame, and rose up with a face of stone; a face that was much scarier than any other he could make.

"You... you don't fucking know, Envy..." he muttered, turning his back to the shattered boy. "YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW **ANYTHING!**" Despite his anger, the blonde was well-aware of the fact that he couldn't leave the dormitory; instead, he stormed off into the bathroom and slammed the door. Envy would've heard a small "click" to let him know that Ed locked the door, but he was too shell-shocked by the sudden change of attitude that just took place. He sat there on the floor, so numb that he couldn't feel the bruise forming on his back from the collision with the bed frame, with only one phrase running through his mind:

_What the fuck have I done?_

As Envy tried to get up, he stumbled from the sudden rush of pain emanating from the impact site. _Ow, FUCK!_ He shouted inwardly. Suddenly, as if the pain held his thoughts, Envy started to flip out _big time._

_WHAT THE __**FUCK**__. HAVE I __**DONE**__? _He thought, running his hands through his hair anxiously. _I was __again__ so close to telling him my feelings, and then his brother gets in the picture, and... it's all fucked. What is the matter with me? Why the fuck do I have such a problem with him? The kid never did anything to me. __**Why**__ am I feeling so much... resentment?_ Envy sat down on his bed, gritting his teeth and pulling at his hair.

_What do I do?_

"Ed?" Envy called out remorsefully. No response came, not even an annoyed grunt.

"... Ed?" He called again, feeling his eyes sting a bit from the waterworks that were surely to come. Again, no response. Envy slowly stood back up, and shuffled awkwardly towards the bathroom door.

"You... you don't need to hide in the bathroom if you wanted to jerk off for a bit..." he mumbled, trying to lighten up the mood a bit. Not even a snort of disgust escaped the room where Ed was locked inside. "I, uh... should I start reenacting Bottom's serenade from _Midsummer Night's Dream_, maybe...?" As before, not a single sound acknowledging that Envy was actually there. The incredible silence was the thing that finally broke him.

"Edward, please come out of the bathroom," he weeped, not faking a single emotion. "Please, I'm sorry, I never wanted to offend you or your brother or anyone! Please, I'm sorry!" The tears began to well up in his eyes, and Envy's outbreak overflowed with bitter memories of situations he never wanted to remember. "Ed, I'm sorry! I'm such a moron, and I don't deserve to ever have you as anything to me! Please, just... please come out of the bathroom, I'm sorry... God, I'm a fucking idiot..." He leaned on the door, with his forehead resting on his hands, and just waited for as long as he could.

_He's not... faking it this time,_ Ed thought, unknowingly mimicking the position Envy was in just outside the bathroom door. _Is he... crying? Someone as vain as him... he's crying? Is it my fault? _He thought about this. _He was being a complete bastard once I mentioned Alphonse... what's he got against Al? My brother wouldn't hurt anyone even if they really, really irritated him, so why would he bear such resentment? And before, at the lake, he suddenly was in such a bad mood after Alphonse called... what was he going to say? Why does Alphonse seem like such a problem to him? I know that he doesn't have a good relationship with his family, but... can't I __love__ my brother like normal siblings do?_ Suddenly, in a burst of god-forsaken energy, the quite thick-headed blonde put two and two together.

_How __**dense**__ can I __**be**__?_ Edward jerked up, unlocked the door, and slammed the door open with his heart pounding in his ears.

Which, by the way, were actually ringing from the drum-splitting shout Envy emitted when the door smashed into his face.

"HOLY FUCKING **SHIT!** _**OW!**_" He screeched, stumbling backwards and holding his throbbing nose. "What the _fuck_, Ed..." Envy slid down to the floor, leaning on the wall opposite the bathroom, and felt a single tear slip down his cheek. Edward stared at him, with a face indescribable using words. The blonde kneeled down, gently brushing against Envy, and nudged the black-haired boy's hands aside.

"What're you..." Envy began, still clutching his nose. "Ed, I'm-"

"I heard you. Move your hands so I can see you," the blonde ordered, nudging again at his hands. Envy complied, and revealed a nose that was still perfectly intact.

"Am I still gorgeous?" He asked vainly, daring to chuckle a bit. Edward looked at him, smiling while subtly moving closer to him. He leaned into Envy's ear, and whispered,

"Always."

And not two seconds later was when the two's lips met for the very first time.


	13. Chapter 12

**I'M ALIVE! ^o^ I finally finished all my work and now I shall devote all my extra time for you lovely humans ~w~ You are all making me fabtastically happy with your reviews; I really, really appreciate it! And now, without further ado, I bring you Chapter 12! Please enjoy~!**

* * *

-Chapter Twelve-

For the first few seconds of their first kiss, Envy's mind fell into a blur. He could only feel the soft touch of Ed's lips, the sweet taste of the cola he had with his dinner, and the slight tickle of a stray blonde hair on his cheek. Envy's shoulders relaxed, even though his heart pounded with passion. It was certainly the best moment of his life.

Of course, Edward was in a world of his own as well. He was fully absorbed into the kiss, ever so lightly pressing his lips into the black-haired boy's own. The meeting of lips was not hungry; rather, it was one that expressed exactly what the two were feeling without saying a word. The two boys were completely connected in mind, body, and soul.

"Oh yeah, and I think I should mention that I like you, Envy," Edward said, breaking the kiss but still staying within range. "Just thought I might as well tell you now." Envy smirked.

"You _don't _say?" He responded sarcastically. "Well, it just so happens that I like you, too, O'Chibi-san. If you didn't notice." Instead of getting irritated at the nickname, Ed laughed and hugged the black-haired boy, resting his head on his shoulder. Envy instinctively raised his hand to pet the blonde's head.

_Dammit, he got there before me, even after all my planning!_ Envy thought, still smiling. _But you know what? I don't give a shit right now; I've got a little blonde shrimp on my shoulder_.

"So," Envy began. "Can I safely say that we're boyfriend and girlfriend now?" He snickered, and Ed pulled back with an amused look on his face.

"That depends, who's the girlfriend?" He joked, looking pointedly at Envy.

"I think it should be obvious, O'Chibi-san," the taller boy responded, playfully poking Ed in the chest. "Or do you want me to say it out loud?" The blonde blushed, scrambling backwards and away from Envy.

"I-I'M NOT A GIRL, YOU PALM TREE!" Edward shouted embarrassedly. "Can't we just agree that we're both b-bo..." He couldn't get the word out for the life of him. Envy edged closer, hugged the boy, and whispered in his ear,

"We're both boyfriends, right?" He purred, knowing full well he was only making the blonde blush more.

"... yeah," Ed responded meekly. But suddenly, a concerning thought popped up in his head. "Hey, Envy?"

"What's up, boyfriend?" Came the response sure to make Ed blush more.

"S-Since you've been here already for a year, y-you might know th-this... is this school..." He trailed off, nervous about the response. In turn, Envy moved his ear right next to Edward's mouth.

"Is this school...?" He repeated.

"... is this school... homosexual-friendly...?" The blonde asked, his voice becoming smaller and smaller. Envy grinned.

"Ed, if they weren't, then I'd _make_ them tolerate it," he said, holding up his fist to emphasize his point. Ed laughed, slowly beginning to stand up. However, Envy wasn't going to let that happen in a million years.

"AGH! Envy, what the hell are you _doing?_" Edward exclaimed as Envy yanked him down by the arm, only to land on top of the spiky-haired boy. "What's _wrong_ with y-" He stopped as he felt Envy's arms tightly wrap around him. "... Envy?"

"Now, Ed, you're _really_ mine," the black-haired boy said in his sweetest voice. The blonde barely resisted the impulse to squeal like a little girl. "And I, uh..." he continued. "I kinda need some help up. My back still hurts a bit." At that, Edward panicked and wrenched himself from Envy's arms; he then stood, regaining his composure, and held out a hand for Envy to get a boost up by.

"Here," he said. Envy smiled, and took the hand with great pleasure. Not three seconds after, the black-haired boy rushed to his bag and pulled out an incredibly thick hardcover book that read, "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." Ed pondered how Envy actually carried that thing around; it looked like it was close to 2000 pages.

"Envy, what're you-" He began, only to get shushed by the boy, who was now sitting on the edge of his bed and leafing through the book, now in his lap. He found within the book a piece of folded up looseleaf paper, unfolded it, and set the book aside. Envy proudly stood up, paper in hand, and began to loudly recite:

"_Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?_" To Envy, Ed's immediate reaction was absolutely priceless. The boy had gone as red as the jeans he wore, if not redder.

"_Thou art more lovely and more temperate; _

_Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,_

_And summer's lease hath all too short a date;_

_Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,_" Envy continued, winking at Edward and smiling like there was no tomorrow.

"_And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;_

_And every fair from fair sometime declines,_

_By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;_

_But thy eternal summer shall not fade,"_ "Envy!" The blonde protested out of embarrassment and shock. "You're going to wake someone up!" Envy shook his head, still continuing on with his well-rehearsed sonnet.

"_Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;_

_Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,_

_When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:_

_So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,_

_So long lives this, and this gives life to thee._" He bowed dramatically, the applause roaring inside his head. Envy grinned from ear-to-ear at the tomato-faced blonde.

"Sonnet 18..." he said, walking towards the receiver of the romantic poem. "I've long since memorized it, but it was only today, that I tho-" Suddenly, several loud slams emanated from the front door. They came in quick succession, as if the person making them was incredibly scared or incredibly angry. To the two's misfortune, the second answer was unfortunately the correct one. Envy took it upon himself to open the door for Ed's sake; he was still recovering from Envy's impromptu performance of the Shakespearean sonnet of love. The blonde heard a very loud shout, but before he could see the source of it, the black-haired boy slammed the door into the frame just as quickly as he had opened it.

"... who was at the door?" Ed asked blankly.

"An axe murderer," Envy responded casually.

"No, really?"

"No, unfortunately an axe murderer would've been a much more pleasant sight than what's actually there." Edward sighed, now inferring the answer to his first question as he walked over to the door and opened it.

"Why, good evening, Edward," Ling Yao greeted good-naturedly, donned in a comfortable silk robe and sleep pants that were decorated with intricate Eastern World designs. "Is Envy around? I need to speak to him about something." The warning bells went off in Ed's head, as Ling peered over his shoulder to spot Envy sitting back on his bed and "reading" his massive book of Shakespeare. The calm expression on Ling's face instantly morphed into one that showed he was astronomically pissed off.

"Uh... what do you need to talk to him about?" Ed asked nervously, skating onto what was probably the thinnest ice in the world. Ling looked back at him and smiled.

"Oh, just the fact that he's been so catastrophically loud ever since he returned to his dorm and that I would like it if he would kindly shut the hell up or else I'll shut him up _for_ him," he responded casually, carrying his voice far enough to reach the ears of the boy he spoke of. Envy snapped his book shut and carried it under his arm to the door next to Edward.

"Oh, yeah? And how the hell do you suppose you'll do _that?_" He threatened, subtly nudging the blonde behind him to let him know he shouldn't get involved. It was obvious that Envy didn't want a repeat of the fight that occurred two weeks ago. "Annoy me to death?"

"If a person could die from being annoyed, you must have murdered me over a thousand times, you palm tree bitch," Ling responded, glaring coldly at the black-haired male with the intention to infuriate him. However, Envy just so happened to be in an excellent mood from recent events, thus causing his anger to stay relatively under control. Ed noticed this, but was still apprehensive of Envy's stability due to the incredibly heavy and potentially dangerous book he wielded under his arm.

"Is that so? Well, I'm _so _terribly _sorry_ about that, Ling," Envy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm _so _sorry about my _shouting_, too. I _promise_ I'll shut up from now _on_..."

"Go fuck yourself," Ling spat, still holding ferocious eye contact with his adoptive brother.

"I don't need to, I already have someone to do-" "ENVY!" The blonde shouted, forcing himself between the quarreling brothers. "Ling, I'll keep Envy quiet. He won't bother you with his voice again. Have a good night's sleep." The squinty-eyed boy flashed a face of apprehension, but soon regained a calm composure.

"Alright, Ed. Thank you so much, and good night to you, too," he said, walking away and back to his respective room.

The blonde shut the door, with Envy still standing behind him with the enormous book still trapped under his arm. Taking the advantage, the violet-eyed boy set his book down and pressed his hands against the wall on either side of Edward's head in a very dominating fashion.

"So, Ed..." he purred. "How do you plan to shut me up for the rest of the night?" Edward sighed, as he turned around to face the black-haired boy.

"By asking nicely?" He asked, thinking he might as well give it a try. Envy shook his head and chuckled.

"Nope, it's going to take more than that," he said.

"I'm not having sex with you, if that's what you're aiming for," Edward said dismissively, a small blush rising to his face from the very thought. In response, Envy gasped and dramatically staggered backwards.

"EDWARD! To think that thou hath such a pervertèd mindset, after all these years I hath known you as the little blonde boy thou hath appearèd to be..."

"Envy, _shut up!_" The blonde blushed, dashing over to the taller boy and clamping his hands over the loud mouth. "Didn't you literally _just_ hear Ling go off? _Stay quiet unless you want him to come back,_" he reprimanded, looking Envy straight in the eye. The black-haired boy pried Ed's hands off of him to respond.

"Alright, alright, whatever," he sighed, hefting his book up once again and walking back over to his bed. "But does this mean you're _never_ having sex?" Edward frowned.

"Not _now_, especially after that foreboding comment you gave to Ling that almost screwed us both on the first night of our rela... relation... relationship. Don't think I don't know what would happen if the teachers found out that we're a co... a coup... together," he said sternly, stumbling over his words a bit. Envy nodded.

"Yeah, I know not _now_, but never?"

Ed shifted uncomfortably. "E-Enough. I don't want to talk about this; we should probably get some sleep, anyways," he said, flopping down on his own bed. Envy grinned, and nodded again.

"Alright, O'Chibi-san. But one more thing?" He asked, silently slithering up to the blonde without him noticing.

"What?" Without a moment's notice, Envy slipped up next to him and took his lips in his own. It took Ed by total surprise; but all the same, it was indeed a very good surprise. They stayed there for a few seconds, until Envy broke away to say something.

"You don't need to worry about a damn thing, Ed. Envy the Powerful and Compassionate is here to be your loving boyfriend, no matter what you want to do or not want to do!" Edward smirked, blushing from the surprise kiss and the term "loving boyfriend."

"Is that so? Well, then, O'Envy the Incredibly Vain and Ridiculous," he winked to let the black-haired boy know he was kidding. "Perhaps you could find it in your heart to respect that I want to _sleep_." Envy fake-groaned, but then started to laugh as he hopped back to his bed.

"Fine," he said, pulling the covers over his head. Edward did the same, turning to face the violet-eyed boy as he slept. The two lay in their respective beds in silence for a moment, until a thought popped up in Envy's head that he absolutely had to resolve at that exact moment.

"Hey, Ed?"

"... what?" The blonde said, a bit irritated.

"I'm sorry about getting bitchy towards you before." Once again, Envy's sudden apologies took Edward aback.

"... it's okay," he said, his voice calm yet still held a hint of a blossoming love.

"And Ed?"

"_What?_" The tone in his voice made Envy snicker.

"Remember what seemed like a century ago, right before we wrestled, and you were mumbling about something or other?" There was a bit of silence as Ed tried to lower the red tone of his face.

"Yes?" He squeaked out.

"What did you say?" Envy waited one, two, three trudging seconds with no response until he decided to ask again. "Well?"

"I said to..." Edward began, his face heating up. "I said to... I said... stop... making that... c-cute... face... it... makes me want to... ki...ki...ss... you..." He stammered, as the black-haired boy's heart thumped with happiness.

"I'm cute?" He repeated happily.

"D-Don't push it," the blonde said stubbornly, turning over in his bed to face the wall. "Go to sleep." Envy grinned, and remained facing his new boyfriend who he feels he's already known for decades.

"Nighty-night, O'Chibi-san."


	14. Chapter 13

**'Tis now another weekend! *~relaxation time~* I am currently in the best of moods, what with all your lovely reviews of love and loveliness ^w^ I'm so glad you all enjoy my work. Thank you all, and here is Chapter 13!**

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-Chapter Thirteen-

As Edward awoke on a dreary Sunday morning, he felt a strong warmth encase his entire body. He assumed he had wrapped himself around with his blankets while he had been sleeping; but as his eyes opened and the gears started to turn, it soon registered to him that Envy was sleeping in his bed, was right next to him, and was hugging him tightly as if he were a teddy bear.

_Holy crap, my boyfriend is sleeping next to me,_ was the first and most obvious statement that entered his brain. _How did he __**get**__ here?_

The blonde assumed that Envy had sidled next to him after he had fallen asleep; he wondered how he managed to do so without waking him up. The biggest question, though, was what the _hell_ should Edward do now?

"... _Envy,_" Ed whispered, gently nudging the black-haired boy in the chest. "Wake up, Envy..." Surprisingly, Envy was sleeping much deeper than Edward usually guessed he did, since there were so many mornings where the taller boy was awake much earlier than he was. "_En_vy..." he whispered a bit louder. Once again, the blonde-haired boy admired the beauty of Envy's sleeping face, his strong, lean arms, and his spectacular mess of hair. Envy had Ed completely trapped in his arms, holding him tightly and burying his face into the long locks of blonde hair that grew from his head. It was a sensation entirely new to the awake and now blushing smaller boy.

"_ENVY!"_ He said, still whispering but doing so as loud as he could. Ed tried to wiggle himself out of Envy's grasp, but ironically it only tightened the grip that the sleeping boy had on him. Edward sighed in frustration.

"How do I do this?" He asked himself, looking Envy up and down and considering his options. He could continue to sleep there until Envy woke up, try to squirm his way out, push Envy violently off the bed, or-and this was the blush-inducing one-kiss the snoozing teen awake. Still being a bit on the hesitant side when it came to kissing, Edward continued to awkwardly squirm around in Envy's arms in a desperate attempt to free himself. He pulled at his sheets to give him a sort of lift, but he ended up only ripping a huge hole in them.

"_SHIT!_" Ed exclaimed, awkwardly running his hands through his loose hair. "Shit shit shiiiiit!" The irritation from his own idiocy brought on a new wave of squirms and wiggles in another failed attempt to release himself from his boyfriend's hug. Edward was so blinded by his determination to escape that he didn't notice Envy's eyes were open.

"Ed. What the _fuck_ are you _doing_?" He said bluntly, stopping Edward's movements. He turned to look at Envy with a look of worry and embarrassment.

"Uh..." Ed mumbled, his muscles relaxing. "I was, uh..." Envy smirked.

"Trying to escape my hug?" He asked, purposefully tightening it for emphasis. "You know you're gonna have to do something else to do _that_." Ed blushed, and reluctantly wrapped his arms around Envy's waist.

"I know..." he muttered, looking into the black-haired boy's eyes and practically showing off the cutest face he could pull; at least, in Envy's opinion it was. The blonde slowly moved his lips towards Envy's, stroking the taller boy between his shoulder blades, making him shiver with delight.

"Th-That tickles, Ed!" Envy chuckled, also moving towards his shorter boyfriend's waiting lips. Edward smiled, and then teasingly planted the lightest kiss on Envy's cheek. In response, Envy groaned, annoyed.

"You cocktease!" He exclaimed, suddenly pulling himself and Ed to sit upright on the crowded bed. "Kiss me for real!" Edward started to snicker, covering his mouth in a weak attempt to hide it. "What? What are you laughing about?" The black-haired boy asked defensively.

"I like it when you beg me to kiss you," the blonde responded. "It's... cute." Without another word, he leaned up into Envy and kissed him sweetly, right on the lips.

"That good enough?" Edward asked, playfully tugging at a lock of Envy's hair. The violet-eyed boy smiled, and gently met the blonde's lips again.

"It's _perfect_," he said, finally releasing Ed from his night-long hug. Ed, in turn, swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up.

"Now, can you tell me exactly _why_ you were sleeping next to me?" He asked smartly, pulling Envy by the hand up onto his feet. The black-haired boy considered this.

"Hmm... because I felt like it and I trusted you not to bruise me when you woke up?" He answered, going over to his suitcase and plucking out a new set of clothes for the day. Edward laughed, knowing in his heart that he actually _did_ enjoy being so close to Envy.

"Well, I was _this _close to pushing you off when I first woke up," he joked, showing a small space between his thumb and forefinger for emphasis. Envy grinned.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I was just _thiiiiiis _close to making a joke of you being _thiiiiiis _big," he responded, mimicking Ed's hand gesture.

"I'M NOT SO SMALL THAT I CAN FIT BETWEEN YOUR THUMB AND FOREFINGER!" He shouted, angrily storming over to his suitcase to pick out his own set of clothes. Envy frowned, then strutted over to the steaming blonde. He kneeled down beside him and hugged him without warning.

"You're so cute when you're angry," he said into the boy's ear.

"I'm _not_ cute," Ed grumbled.

"Oh, yeah you are," Envy argued. Dragging the clinging Envy with him, Ed stood up and searched around the perimeter of his bed for his cellphone, which presumably fell out of his jean pocket while he slept. Upon finding it, he found that there was a voicemail left for him.

"Who's that?" Envy asked, looking over Edward's shoulder at the phone. The blonde grunted, signaling the black-haired boy to back off a bit while he listened to the voicemail.

[Voicemail from: HOHENHEIM]

"Hey, Edward, how're you doing? I just called to check up on you and your brother after the first few weeks of school. Has it made a good impression on you? Do you like any of your teachers? Back at home, I've been pretty busy with the firm, so that's why it's taken so long for me to call. However, I have gotten around to visiting Pinako and a couple of old friends of ours. I even visited one of your old teachers, Mrs. Curtis. Do you remember her? She was your beginner's Chemistry teacher from fourth to sixth grade, if I remember correctly. She told me to tell you that she expects you to be home for Christmas so she can check up on how you've been doing in school, specifically in the subject she taught you. Either way, I just wanted to let you know. Since Alphonse doesn't have a phone, can you tell him I called? Have him call me back from the school phone or something like that, would you Edward? Either way, I just hope you're happy where you are right now. Don't... don't be afraid to talk to me about anything, Edward. Talk to you soon."

Edward clicked his phone off, lowering it from his ear. Envy stood behind him, still holding his folded clothes and awkwardly shuffling his feet on the carpet.

"Ed?" He asked. The blonde turned towards him, tossing his phone into his suitcase.

"Yeah, Envy?"

"Who was on the phone?" He asked innocently. Ed frowned.

"... my dad. He just asked some bullshitty questions about my life here and how Alphonse is and whatnot. It's no big deal," Ed responded. "Don't worry about it."

"Your dad? What's he like?" Envy asked, unknowing of what Edward's reaction would be.

"He's a lawyer," the blonde responded. He gestured towards the bathroom door. "You wanna get changed first?" Envy felt a slight impulse to press further about Hohenheim, but he had the strong feeling that Edward would get mad if he followed his impulse's directions. That, and he was overwhelmed with an idea that would certainly make Ed blush.

Suddenly, Envy pulled off his tank top to reveal the entirety of his pale bare chest.

"Nah, I think I'll just change out here if that's alr-Ed?" Envy stopped his deliberately provocative comment, for the blonde boy had already teleported himself into the bathroom and locked the door.

"Ed?" Envy called anxiously, knocking on the door. "Was that a little too much exposure? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Despite his slight panic, Envy couldn't help but laugh at how delightfully innocent Edward was.

_He's so damn __**cute!**_ He thought amusedly.

On the other side of the door, Edward was unsuccessfully stifling a massive nosebleed.

_I can't believe this just happened..._ He thought. _I'm having a nosebleed after seeing Envy bare-chested. Is this what I've been reduced to now? A perverted teenager who can't suppress his horny thoughts to the point where he has a nosebleed?_ Edward yanked at his hair with the hand that wasn't holding a towel to his nose. _Bad Edward, bad..._

"Ed? Are you okay?" Envy called, knocking on the door again. Maybe it was just him, but Edward could almost hear a snicker escape Envy's lips.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, taking care not to let the fact that his nose was bleeding show through his voice. "I'm just... getting dressed. You should, too." Envy was silent for a moment, but then chuckled a bit.

"Whatever, O'Chibi-san," he said, his voice fading away from the door.

For another 5 minutes, Edward sat on the bathroom floor and eventually stemmed the blood flow. So not to raise any more suspicion than what was already there, the blonde quickly dressed himself and washed his face clear of any blood. He wore a grey cotton t-shirt with blue jeans and a red rubber bracelet that proclaimed: "Keep calm and kill zombies." It happened to be one of his favorite slogans of all time.

Making sure his face was clean, Edward precariously left the bathroom to find Envy waiting for him while leaning on the opposite wall. Slung over Envy's shoulder was both of their bags, all packed with their schoolbooks and ready to be taken with them. Envy grinned when he finally saw Ed emerge.

"You alright there, shrimp?" He asked, handing him his backpack. Edward chose to ignore the playful insult.

"Why do I need this?" Ed asked, holding up the object just handed to him that was heavy with books.

"I was thinking we could go to the library today. You know, to do some homework or something..." Envy trailed off, losing a bit of confidence in his proposition. "That cool?" Edward grinned and nodded happily. Nothing suited him better than spending his Sunday with his new boyfriend at his favorite place to be.

"But let's go grab some breakfast first, 'kay?" Envy asked, opening the front door and dramatically gesturing that Ed go through it. The blonde chuckled as he followed the black-haired boy's gestures.

"Yeah, sure, we both need to eat anyways," he said, as Envy closed the door behind them and turned the lock. "Let's go."


	15. Chapter 14

**FUDGE this was a really long chapter X3 I really couldn't help it; there simply was no good place for me to stop the chapter, so I just kept going. Either way, I present you with this fluffly-fluffy-fluff chapter of fluffiness~! Please enjoy, and thank you for all the review!**

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-Chapter Fourteen-

The two made their way to the dining hall, with Envy attempting to grab Ed's hand with the intention to hold it and Edward embarrassedly arguing.

"Envy! We can't let the wrong people see or else the teachers'll find out and separate us to different dorms!" He exclaimed, looking the long-haired boy straight in the eye. "You wouldn't want that, would you?" Envy looked around, scanning the staircase they were walking down for lingering eyes. Finding none, he leaned over and kissed his little blonde boy by surprise. By reflex, Ed jerked back a bit.

"_ENVY!_ What did I jus-" As Ed tried to argue, the black-haired boy leaned in and kissed him once again, this time with a bit more passion and force. Envy rubbed Edward's shoulders gently, relaxing the muscles that always seemed tense. Giving in, the blonde wrapped his arms around Envy's waist and contributed his own bit of passion into the kiss.

"No one's gonna tell the teacher on us, Ed," the taller boy said, entwining his hand in Edward's. "Or else they'd face both my and Lust's wrath." Ed smirked.

"Your sister? How did _she_ come into the picture?" He asked.

"Lust is the one I'm closest to in my family, but that's not really saying much," Envy responded, tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind Edward's ear. "Even so, she's the only one that knows I like guys. I wouldn't tell anyone else." The blonde nodded in understanding. But in his mind, he was planning out how to break his new relationship to Alphonse; though he wasn't too worried about Winry, for some reason. He decided it would be smart to ask the boyfriend himself before he started telling people.

"Hey, Envy? Can I ask you something?" Envy looked down at him, still hugging the blonde boy.

"You already did," he responded sarcastically.

"Shut up," Ed said, playfully poking Envy in the back. "Anyways, I was wondering... can I tell Alphonse and maybe Winry about my... sexu...ality? Including the fact I'm... dating... you?" He received a blank look for a moment, until Envy broke away to launch into yet another one of his impromptu monologues.

"O, thy lover, what shall I utter? Thou hast askèd me such a tedious question with a face of utmost cuteness, sending my heart into a swarm of butterflies..." he announced. "Thou cannot be controlled by thy boyfriend, and thus I shall pronounce you free to speak to thy brother and thy female-ish friend about thou's relationship with moi. But, thou shall speak no further, or else thou shall be punished through unspecified ways." Edward laughed, continuing down the stairs as Envy followed behind him.

"I have a right to know my punishment by law, Envy," he snickered.

"I'm sure you wouldn't _want _to know, Ed," the black-haired boy responded, sending a cold shiver down Edward's spine.

Upon arriving in the cafeteria, Envy immediately made a beeline for the huge buffet table that was overloaded with food. Ed, however, located a table to sit at and dropped his bag off first. The dining hall was somewhat full, with a low buzz of voices acting as background noise. After securing his bag so that no one would steal it, Edward made his way to Envy, who was still grabbing breakfast.

"Looks like _you're_ hungry," he commented sarcastically, pointing towards the two plates piled with food that Envy held. He gave him a blank look.

"What're you talking about? One of these is for you. Here, take it so I can get us drinks," Envy said, edging a plate into the astounded Ed's hands and walking off.

_He actually got me food?_ Ed thought incredulously. _That's so... considerate, I guess._ He smiled softly, a bit touched from the kind gesture that he wasn't used to with Envy. He looked down at the plate to find it was stuffed with french toast, eggs, bacon, home fries, various berries, and a healthy pile of buttermilk pancakes. The scent of it wafted up through his nostrils, with the delicious odor distracting him enough to not notice Envy had returned with drinks and was trying to get his attention.

"Ed? Eeeeeeed?" He called, waving his head in front of the blonde's face for both his hands were full. "Come on, let's go sit before I start kissing you in front of everyone here to get you to reenter reality." Edward shook his head embarrassedly, snapping out of his food daze and protesting Envy's proposition.

"Please don't do that. It would be..." he trailed off, starting to walk towards their table with Envy tailing behind him.

"Embarrassing?" Envy asked, nudging the blonde in the arm. "I'm not embarrassing to be seen with, am I?" Ed shook his head again, sitting down and looking Envy straight in the eye.

"Anyone who would be embarrassed to be seen with you is someone who's not worth your time," he said sweetly, making the black-haired boy's heart thump as he sat down as well.

"Th-then why can't I kiss you as well? Can't I show off how amazing my boyfriend is?" Envy asked, trying to maintain a convincing smirk.

"... meh. J-Just not in school, where some jerk could see, okay?" Ed caved, starting to dig into his meal while Envy took a sip of his hot chocolate. He smiled.

"Alright, O'Chibi-san," he said, deliberately brushing his leg up against Edward's in a playful manner. The black-haired boy slid two glasses across the table: one filled with hot chocolate, one filled with milk. At the sight of the putrid white liquid, the blonde could not contain his disgust.

"Ugh," he grunted, glaring at the glass. Envy looked at him reproachfully.

"What? You don't like my nickname for you?" He asked, creating a pitiful look on his face.

"No, no, no, it's not that," Edward dismissed, still staring at the glass.

"So you _do_ like my nickname."

"Ye-n-that's not wh-AARGH!" The blonde argued, his own thoughts in toil. "I meant this disgusting excuse for a drink in the glass." He pointed towards the milk in the same manner that one would point to a dead raccoon.

"You don't like milk?" The black-haired boy asked.

"I _hate_ milk," Ed corrected, causing Envy to almost snort his hot chocolate out through his nostrils. "_What?_" Poorly stifling his laughter, Envy responded, "I just think it's funny considering you're so _short._"

"I'M NOT SHORT! MILK IS **REPULSIVE** AND I WON'T DRINK IT!" Edward yelled, slamming his hands down on the table, upsetting the glass of milk and sending it pouring off the edge. "Oh, for the _love_ of god!" He said exasperatedly. By now, the violet-eyed boy was already splitting into peals of laughter, once again enjoying the face that Ed made when he was angry that he found to be so cute. The blonde quickly left the table to retrieve some cleaning supplies, whereas Envy suddenly stopped laughing and observed all the strange looks he and his boyfriend were getting.

_It's not like we're goddamn roadkill, you assholes,_ he thought viciously, sending poison glares to anyone he met eyes with. _Quite staring as if we can't see you. Fucking bastards. _He broke his concentration of sending psychic messages to the onlookers as Edward arrived back at the table.

Ed precariously lifted up the glass, (unluckily) still half-full with milk, and wiped up the spillage with a huge ball of napkins to prevent the white liquid from making contact with his skin.

"Gosh, Ed, you treat milk like it was some sort of toxic acid," Envy joked, taking a bite of his french toast.

"It might as well be," the blonde responded bitterly, holding the soaking napkins as far away from him as possible as he threw them out in a nearby trash can. "Shitty excuse for a beverage." He cursed, plopping back down in his chair. Envy snickered, and slightly nudged the half-full glass back towards the boy.

"You really should drink your milk."

"_No._"

"It'll help you _grow!_" Envy reasoned, his mouth stuffed with food.

"_NO!_"

"Pretty please?"

"Close your mouth or swallow your food, it's a turn off to see you like that," Ed said, smirking. The black-haired boy swallowed and continued to pester the blonde.

"Who are you, my mother?"

"The real mother here is the one telling me to drink that disgusting cow juice."

"Drink it! What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"I could have a seizure and drown in the regurgitated milk that caused it." Unfortunately for him, the comment caused Envy to comedically spit his half-chewed bacon out onto his plate.

"That's _disgusting_, Ed," he chuckled, finishing off the rest of his breakfast and licking the extra syrup up with his finger.

"Not as disgusting as that suave move you just pulled there," Edward said, taking a final bite out of his own breakfast. "But even _that_ was not as disgusting as milk is."

"DRINK IT! ENVY COMMANDS YOU!" Envy said, picking up both their plates and stacking them on a nearby bussing cart.

"_NO!_" Edward argued for the last time. "I'm never drinking it!" Envy swiveled around the table and moved his mouth towards the blonde's ear.

"Do it or I'll feed it to you myself," he whispered, letting his wide and playful grin show through his voice. Edward blushed, and immediately rose from the table. He mumbled something that sounded like, "keep the good and the terribly awful separate, please?", picked up his bag and gestured towards the doors that led to the outside campus.

"Shall we?" Ed asked, a blush still faint on his cheeks. Envy smiled, wrapping his arm over Ed's shoulder; to his surprise, Edward had no intention of shaking the closeness off.

"Sure, Ed," he said, moving with the blonde out through the doors and then outside.

The two exited the dorm building to find a dreary and grey morning waiting for them. Thick clouds loomed overhead, blotting out the sun and heavy with rain.

"Uh-oh," Ed said. "Should we go get umbrellas in case it rains later?" Envy looked down at him, grinning.

"Nah, I think we'll be fine," he responded, subtly looking around for any prying eyes. Suddenly becoming aware of this action, Edward felt a spark of an impulse that came too fast to control; without another second wasted, the blonde's lips met with those of Envy's, catching the taller boy by surprise. The kiss was strong, already full of passion and utter happiness; the fact that it was so sudden made it all the more enjoyable to the black-haired receiver.

"Did you... did you like that?" Edward asked shyly, slowly moving his arm to circle Envy's waist.

"Hell yeah, I did!" Envy exclaimed happily, almost skipping around in joy with Ed in tow. "I _loved_ it!" The blonde smiled, continuing to walk across campus with his boyfriend for a good 10 minutes after until they reached the library.

"After you, milady," the taller boy joked, holding the door open in an extravagant fashion for Edward; the boy blushed, tugging at Envy's shirt sleeve that signaled him to follow the shorter boy through the large wooden doors into the depths of the library.

"Alright, so, I have to annotate the entirety of Mark Antony's speech, and you probably have to do some other English assignment, so we might as well start that first..." Edward proposed, sitting down in a cushy chair located in a more secluded area of the library. Envy followed, but in the exact opposite way Ed expected: the black-haired boy took it upon himself to go ahead and sit himself down in the same chair Edward was sitting in, half on top of the blonde-haired boy.

"Envy! What the hell are you _doing?_" Ed asked embarrassedly, as Envy started to awkwardly shift around.

"Wait, get up for a sec?" Envy asked, getting up as well. Edward reluctantly complied, grabbing _Julius Caesar_, a pen and some sticky notes from his bag while he was up. The black-haired boy grabbed an ambiguous notebook and pencil from his bag, and then plopped back down into the large and comfortable chair.

"Oi, you stole my-" Ed started, but then noticed the hand gesture Envy was making. He was gesturing for him to come sit on his lap.

"Well, are you gonna sit or what?" Envy asked, still motioning for the blonde to sit on him. "I'm not gonna bite you, come on!" Edward blushed, hesitant to comply. At the sight, Envy's face softened into the sweetest smile he could make. "Please?" He asked, with a voice of silk. "Don't worry so much, Edward." A warm shiver strolled down the blonde's spine; one that told him to join his boyfriend in the chair.

"It's just a habit of mine to worry," he mumbled, subtly shuffling towards Envy, who was losing a bit of patience. The black-haired boy leaned forward, grabbed Ed's hand, and forcefully pulled the boy into his lap.

"Quit being such a tight-ass, you'll have more fun," he joked, holding Edward by the waist and leaning his head on his chest.

"I'm _not_ a tight-ass," Ed argued.

"Then don't _act_ like one," Envy retorted, chuckling. The blonde sighed, then situated himself so that he was perpendicular to Envy and his back was leaning on an arm of the chair. He remained on the taller boy's lap, embarrassed but still secretly enjoying the close contact.

"Alright, I'll stay, but you can't bug me when I'm trying to work, okay?" Edward argued stubbornly, opening his book and beginning to write a notation. Envy snorted.

"Like _that'll_ ever happen, O'Chibi-san," he said sarcastically, opening his own notebook and starting to write in it as well.

The two continued on like that, with Ed making the most serious of faces as he flipped through _Julius Caesar_ and Envy actually being quiet for once. But after a few minutes, Edward noticed something: every couple of seconds, his black-haired boyfriend was glancing at him, glancing down at his notebook, writing in it, and then glancing back at him again.

"Envy?" Ed said.

"Yes, my little blonde boy?" Envy said cutely, looking up from his so-called work.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you _think_ I'm doing?"

"I would hope you're doing some sort of schoolwork."

"Why would I? I finished it all yesterday while you were sleeping the morning away." Edward looked at him incredulously.

"_Seriously?_"

"Does this face look like I'm kidding?" Envy asked, mimicking Ed's serious face while suppressing a laugh. The expression Envy made was absolutely ridiculous; being serious was something that didn't suit him at all.

"I can't always tell with you, Envy," the blonde said, smiling. "So what _are_ you doing?" He attempted to peer over at the black-haired boy's notebook, but the owner of it wasn't going to let him.

"No! You can't look, it's not finished yet!" Envy protested, his face turning a light pink.

"Come on, please?" Edward asked, his curiosity overtaking his sensibility. He leaned closer into Envy, no longer feeling any trace of embarrassment. "Pleaaaase?" Envy shook his head violently, his long locks of hair smacking repeatedly into the blonde's face. "Ow! Cut that out! Lemme see!" He began to crawl all over Envy, grabbing at the boy's notebook and accidentally dropping _Julius Caesar_.

"Ed, noooo! Let me finish it first!" The black-haired boy said defensively, keeping his notebook out of the blonde's reach. Suddenly, Edward kissed him square on the lips, with the same intensity as the one outside the dorm building. Envy's mind turned to mush as his arms automatically wrapped around Ed, bringing the smaller boy closer to him.

"Mmm..." Envy heard the blonde moan, successfully trapping him in a cage locked by passion. For a few more moments, the two stayed like they were, embracing each other and keeping their lips locked together.

"Hmhmhm..." Edward chuckled, slowly moving his hand behind him to take the notebook from Envy's possession. "Got it!" He exclaimed, almost jumping away from the kiss as he opened the battered book. The black-haired boy remained quiet, slightly blushing and stunned from the moment he just experienced.

"It's..." Ed slightly gasped. "You drew... me?" He held up the drawing in front of Envy, still unfinished but indeed very skilled. From the perspective he was in, Envy had captured the blonde's golden eyes, his braided hair, his sloping shoulders and his concentration on the book he was reading only moments ago; all of this was drawn in only pencil, but Ed thought it looked like a photograph.

"It's... amazing, Envy," Edward complimented, smiling at the black-haired boy. "I'm impressed. And flattered that you would draw _me_..." He blushed, making that face that Envy found to be unbearably cute. What with the kiss and the compliments and the expression on Ed's face, Envy could not contain the squeal that his heart told him to let free.

"Heeeeeeeeee~!" The black-haired boy squee'd, hugging Edward tighter than ever before. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" He continued, shaking the blonde back and forth excitedly.

"Agh! Y-You're welc-come!" Ed responded, a bit weirded out by happy to be hugged by Envy all the same.

"Have I _ever_ told you how incredibly _cute_ you are, O'Chibi-san?" Envy asked, sneaking in a light kiss on Ed's lips.

"I can't recall," Edward remarked. "But I have a feeling you've thought it for quite a while," he smirked.

"You little mind-reader," Envy teased, poking the blonde in the chest. "Now gimme back my notebook so we can both finish our work and leave."

After a couple of hours, a few exchanges of words, kisses and jokes, and several homework assignments, Envy had continually pestered the blonde-haired boy to his wit's end.

"Can we leave now? I've already drawn you, like, five times," Envy asked, tugging at Ed's braid.

"Envy. I have literally one more assignment to do. _Shut up_ and let me work or _leave,_" Edward responded, incredibly irritated.

"But I wanna be with my _boyfriend~!_" Envy whined.

"That's fine with me, as long as you _shut up!_" What Envy didn't understand about Ed's now awful mood was that he wasn't just irritated by _him_; he was irritated by the fact he was assigned an enormous amount of homework for his least favorite class, trigonometry. For almost 45 minutes, the blonde had been poring over his notebook as he worked through the problems.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Ed," the black-haired boy said pathetically, leaning back in the chair. Edward sighed.

"It's okay. Just let me finish this and we can go." Envy nodded, but not soon after he felt compelled to rub Ed's back in a very relaxing manner. "Envy, what are you doing?" The blonde asked, his eyes finally breaking away from his book and meeting Envy's.

"I'm giving you a massage. Just take a chill pill and finish, okay?" Envy smiled, squeezing Ed's shoulder in a reassuring way. "I'll stay quiet."

The next 10 minutes were spent with the taller boy rubbing Ed's back up and down, untwisting kinks in his muscles that seemed to have been there forever. Edward found it was much easier to focus on his homework with Envy releasing the tension that existed in him. Sometimes he couldn't help but sigh in pleasure.

Suddenly, Ed flipped his book off his lap and shouted, "DONE!" He finally got up from Envy's lap, walked over to his book, and stepped on as if he just conquered Mt. Everest. "I HAVE COMPLETED THE GOD-FORSAKEN TRIG HOMEWORK!" The black-haired boy burst into laughter, getting up as well and shaking the tingling feeling of blood circulation loss from his legs. A disembodied voice uttered an irritated "shhhhhhhhhh!", but both Edward and Envy were too happy to feel embarrassed.

"I am _fucking_ done!" Ed said happily, tossing his books into his bag and lifting it up.

"It was about time, I thought _I_ was gonna throw my book on the floor in frustration of just _watching_ you!" Envy joked, slinging his arm around the blonde's shoulder. "I'm glad you're done, Ed." He said, gently kissing the boy on the cheek.

"Me, too. I _hate_ trig," Edward smiled, leading his boyfriend with him back through the library and out through the wooden doors.

"You _have_ to be kidding me," Envy grumbled, staring out at the sheets of rain that poured from the sky. "I thought it was gonna hold off until the afternoon!"

"It _is_ the afternoon," Ed said. "My internal clock says it's about 1:30PM."

"Aaaargh! I don't wanna get wet!" The black-haired boy whined in a similar fashion to a 3-year-old.

"I'll keep you warm, Envy," the blonde said sweetly, wrapping one arm around Envy's waist and holding him close. "I don't mind the rain as much." Envy's heart pounded as a blush rose to his face in response to the romantic words. He adjusted his long hair a bit so that it hung in front of his face, hiding the redness from Edward.

"Okay," he mumbled. Ed's own confidence got the best of him, as he held the taller boy's hand in his. All feelings of shyness had seemed to been washed away by the rain; it served as reassurance that no one was out and about, and certainly no one was bothering to look out for them.

The two walked along, getting drenched in rain but acting as if nothing was there. Upon reaching the dorm where they would grab lunch, a genius idea popped into Envy's mind.

"Hey, Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever fantasized... about being kissed in the rain?" The proposal made Edward both laugh and blush, provoking a similar reaction in the asker.

"To be honest, _maybe_ once or twice..." he responded. "Why do you a-" Before he could finish his sentence, Envy spun him around, grabbed him by the waist, and passionately kissed him with lips soaked in rain. The taller boy ran his hands through Ed's hair, tugging the hair tie out of his braid and letting it loose; in turn, Edward wrapped his arms behind Envy's neck and kissed him back.

_How many more perfect moments will I share with this unforgettable human being?_ Envy thought. _If it were my choice... these moments would last forever._

"Guess what? Now you _have_ been kissed in the rain," Envy smirked.

"I'll make sure to check it off my bucket list," Ed joked, smiling wider that he ever did before. The black-haired boy gently kissed him on the forehead, feeling happier than he ever thought he could actually be.


	16. Chapter 15

***relieved sigh* Ah, thank goodness I got around to posting! I took up so much time writing the last chapter that I forgot to write this one ^.^''' But, here it is! All you humans are so awesome for giving me so many reviews~! And see, I'm hesitant to allow anonymous reviews because of circumstances I've experienced before with anons.**

**Either way, after that ridiculously long author's note, I bring you chapter fifteen! **

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-Chapter Fifteen- (the next morning)

_Rinnnnng... rinnnnnng..._

As his ears caught the loud trill of the phone, Edward's mind resurfaced from the realm of the sleeping. He moved his legs around a bit, noticing that he was all alone in his bed. _I guess Envy decided to keep to his own bed last night..._ he thought with a bit of disappointment.

_Rinnnnng... rinnnnng..._

_What __**is**__ that irritating ringing sound?_ Ed thought, still a bit dazed from being just woken up. He sat up in bed, glancing around with bleary eyes for the source of the sound. His sights set upon the phone across the room, which was currently ringing with the wake-up call that let poor sleepy Edward know that another Monday had arrived.

"Ugh..." he grunted, throwing the covers off the bed irately. Edward swung his legs over the edge, stood, and trudged over to the phone in an incredibly lazy manner. Messily picking it up and dropping it back into place, Ed sighed out of relief that the annoying sound had disappeared.

_Wait a second,_ he thought, suddenly aware that there was something he was missing.

"Envy?" Ed called, looking over at the black-haired boy's bed; it was occupied by a big lump of blankets that Edward presumed was the boy himself. "Envy, get up, it's Monday," he said, adjusting his rumpled shirt so it covered his stomach. Unexpectedly, a horrid cough rose from Envy's throat, making Ed flinch. "Envy, are you okay?" The blonde asked anxiously, rushing over to the taller boy's bedside and gently rubbing his head. Envy shuddered, coughing and sniffling pathetically.

"I think I'm sick, Ed..." Envy stated, with only his eyes and the top of his head poking out from under the covers. "I don't feel so good..." Edward sighed, knowing full well that if Envy was sick, _he_ would soon get sick as well. He delicately pressed the back of his hand to Envy's forehead, checking for fever.

"Well, you don't have a fever, which is good," Ed diagnosed. "Maybe you got a cold from the rain yesterday?" The black-haired boy nodded as another cough rose from his throat.

"Yeah, and it's raining again today, so..." he began, his voice scratchy. "I... I don't think I'm gonna go in today. I'll call the attendance office and-" he coughed again-"tell them." Edward nodded, gently kissing his sick boyfriend on the top of his head.

"Alright, Envy. In the meantime, I need to go get dressed and pack my stuff together to g-" As he tried to get up, a pale hand slipped out from under the blankets and tugged at his pajama shirt sleeve.

"Please don't go, Ed..." the owner of the hand begged. "Call in sick, too. I-" more coughing-"don't want you to leave." The blonde blushed, but still held his ground about attending school.

"I _have_ to go, Envy! Even though... even though it'll be 10 times worse without... you..." Ed suddenly became aware of what he just said, and judging from the face the black-haired boy was making, he certainly enjoyed it very much.

"O'Chibi-san..." Envy mumbled. "Why hath thou creatèd such a lover's tale so full of tragedy and longing? I hath realizèd thou cannot stay, yet I wish for thou to stay anyways. If thou must begone, I beg of thee to give thy boyfriend one more kiss as thou did just now." Near the end of the short monologue, Ed could practically hear the little grin forming on Envy's lips. He sighed, then smiled, then ever-so-lightly kissed the sick boy on the lips.

"Is that good enough, Shakespeare Jr.?" He teased, staring straight into the eyes of the boy he shared so much passion with. Envy nodded; as soon as he did so, those violet eyes fluttered shut and Envy began to doze off. _Is he __**really**__ sick?_ Edward thought amusedly. _Because I've never heard of a sick person delivering a Shakespearean monologue and asking their boyfriend to kiss them._ He removed Envy's limp hand from his shirt sleeve, stood up once again, and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

In silence, so as to not wake the sleeping Envy, the blonde put on his pristine uniform and tied his hair back into a loose ponytail; he was still sleepy, so his fingers didn't have enough conscious dexterity to braid it. He grabbed his bag, gave the black-haired boy a soft kiss on the forehead, and exited the room, gently locking the dormitory door behind him. "Feel better, Envy," was the last thing he said before he was gone for the day.

Hearing the boy's footsteps retreat, Envy suddenly sat up in bed and ruffled his hair out.

"Well, I better call the office to tell them I'm sick," he said out loud, jumping out of bed and walking towards the phone. "Thank god I don't have to go today. I _hate_ rain." A smile curled upon his lips as he dialed a number.

"I hope Ed won't be too lonely without me," he whispered, coughing a bit and touching the spot where the blonde administered his good-bye kiss. _That cute little bastard~!_

_(a couple of hours later)_

"Oui! C'était la cloche. Au revoir![1]" The french teacher called, dismissing her class as everyone packed up their books. For all of the classes he had, people had asked Edward where Envy was or why he was absent. The blonde repeated the same, "He's sick," response over and over for about 20 times, and he was really getting tired of it.

"Hey, Ed!" Came a voice behind him as he walked towards the lunchroom. He turned around, automatically expecting Envy but finding Winry instead.

"Oh, hey, Winry," Edward responded, a bit disappointed.

"Where's Envy? Is he absent?" Winry asked, catching up to the blonde. Ed groaned, hitting himself in the head with his French textbook. "_What?_" Winry asked defensively.

"Nah, it's not you, I've just answered that question a billion times today," Edward reassured. "Who ever knew he was so popular with people?" The blonde girl giggled a bit.

"He's not _that_ popular Ed," she began. "It's just that you're _always_ with him and it's weird to see you alone." Ed blushed.

"I-I-I'm not '_always_' with him!" He shouted. "And I'm alone plenty of times! People don't need to worry about me!" Winry laughed at his outrageously dramatic reaction.

"It's only human, Ed," she said. "You should be happy that people bother to care. Now, answer my first question with that supposed response you've been repeating all day."

"He's _sick,_" Edward responded exasperatedly. "Got a cold or something from walking around in the rain yesterday." Winry nodded.

"Ah, okay. By the way, Ed..." she smiled mischievously. "A little birdie told me you went out on a date with him on Saturday." The reaction on Edward was immediate.

"I-I-I DID NOT!" He yelled, unsuccessfully trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. Ed _knew_ it was technically not true at the time, but in perspective it was probably the closest thing to being an actual date there could be. He also knew that he _was_ granted permission to come out to Winry, but something in his mind told him that right now wasn't the time to do so. The blonde girl started laughing hysterically.

"Well, some girls I know told me they say you two at the Western European restaurant a ways from here," she justified, recalling Edward's memories of the group of girls Envy pointed out to him. He subtly edged up to Winry, stood up a bit on his toes to reach her ear, and whispered,

"I don't wanna talk about it right now." The laughter on the taller girl's face faded, as she looked at him with concern.

"Is everything okay?" She asked seriously.

"Yeah, it's fine, nothing to _worry_ about, per say..." Ed trailed off.

"Do you... want to meet up after school and talk about it?" Winry whispered calmly, despite her mind racing through any number of scenarios that she could soon hear about, with the true one being somewhere near the top of the list.

"Y-Yeah, sure..." Edward blushed. "How about in front of the science building? You have tech lab last, right?"

"Yeah. I'll see you then. Are you sure it's not anything bad?" She asked as the two walked through the cafeteria doors. Ed nodded.

"Of course it's not. I'm actually pretty sure you'll be a bit pleased about it..." the blonde said, looking away so Winry couldn't catch the smile forming on his face.

_What's up with Ed?_ Winry thought, silently munching on her food as she watched Ed and Alphonse have a lively conversation involving a series the older blonde had just introduced the younger one to. _It involves Envy, that much I know... but why wasn't he able to explain the so-called date at that moment...?_

"Hey. You okay, Win?" Paninya asked, nudging the blonde girl in the arm. Winry shook herself out of her thoughts, and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking a bit," she responded, smiling.

"About what?" The dark-skinned girl asked, her eyes bright with interest.

"Nothing in general," Winry lied.

"You liar. It's about Ed, isn't it?" Paninya assumed, hitting the bull's eye on her first try.

"... maybe."

"So it's about Ed and Envy, I see... Has Ed come out to you yet?" Another bull's eye.

"... I think he's about to."

"Hey, what are you two mumbling about over there?" Alphonse interjected cheerfully, shocking the two girls into nervously responding with a, "nothing, nothing!" Edward looked at Winry with a bit of worried suspicion in his eyes, but the blonde-haired girl looked back with a face firm with reassurance she wasn't gossiping about him. Which she unintentionally was.

"... you won't speak a word of anything to anyone, okay Paninya?" Winry asked anxiously. Paninya smiled and patted the girl on the back.

"Hey, I may be a bit of a thief, I wouldn't do any shit like that. Don't worry," the black-haired girl said. The blonde sighed with relief.

"Good. I'm talking to him after school, so I'll let you know th-"

"No, don't let me know without Ed's permission," Paninya interjected. "There could be a good reason why he didn't tell you now." Winry nodded, a bit ashamed of herself for being a bit too loose-lipped.

"Okay," she said, then continuing to eat her lunch in silence.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, with only a few more exchanges of "where's Envy?" and "he's sick," clouding up Ed's mind. He made sure to take extra good notes in chemistry for Envy, who was more likely than not going to pester him for the work from school. At the end of his creative writing class, the blonde slouched back in his seat and planned how he would come out to Winry.

_Do I come out and say it bluntly, or should I beat around the bush a bit...? No, I should definitely say it directly, because otherwise I'll just drag it out too much... how should I say it? "Hey, Winry, I'm gay and I'm dating Envy, that cool?" No no no, that would be __**really**__ strange... should I say it outright but still somewhat vaguely...? No, that doesn't make any sense. "Winry, I don't like girls. I mean, I like them as friends, but I don't like them romanti-_

"Mr. Elric? Mr. Elric?" A voice called, bringing him back to his senses. He looked up to find Ms. Sheska standing in front of him. He blushed from embarrassment and sat straight up.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I..." he began, until the woman's voice calmly shushed him.

"Don't worry about it, everyone has their off days," she said kindly. "I just need to know what kind of piece you'll be doing for your 'first love' project." Ed nodded, but felt his heart drop at the realization he had not considered it once.

"I, uh..." he began, his mind racing the clock to come up with an idea. "I... I'm doing a poem. In a kind of like... Shakespeare format. I think... it'll be nonfiction, of sorts..." Ms. Sheska smiled, nodded, and wrote down a little note in her book.

"Alright, I'll be eagerly awaiting the assignment!" She said, walking away to collect the rest of the students' project outlines. Ed slumped forward, thinking about what he just said.

_A Shakespeare format, what am I thinking..._ he thought. _I guess I just started to think about Envy, and... __**that**__ popped out. I guess I'm stuck with it, now... It can't be __**that**__ bad if... it's about Envy..._ he reflexively smiled, blushing at the thought of his boyfriend. The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day and for Ed to immediately rush out of the classroom to meet up with Winry.

_Alright, alright, calm down, Ed..._ he told himself as he ran down the stairs. _It's not like she's gonna kill you or anything, she's quite accepting and open... knees, stop knocking together!_ As he pushed open the front doors of the art studio building and made his way towards the science building, he could already see Winry's blonde hair from across the way. It had stopped raining since the morning to Edward's pleasure, but the scent of water still hung around in the air, along with an overcast sky. Even so, the clear air didn't distract Ed from his butterfly-filled stomach.

_God, I feel like I'm about to puke,_ he said, his nerves wreaking all sorts of havoc on his constitution. _Relax, Ed, relax, you're just going to tell her, "I'm gay," and you'll be fine..._ As he approached the taller blonde girl, his teeth chattered out of anxiety. Winry spotted him, calmly walking his way and greeting him happily.

"What's up, Ed?" She asked, giving Edward a small hug. He took a breath, let it out slowly, and said at the speed of light,

"Winry-I-don't-like-girls-but-I-like-them-as-friends-but-not-romantically-and-I'm-gay-and-dating-Envy-is-that-cool?"

_God, I'm an idiot._

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[1]: Yes! That was the bell. Goodbye!


	17. Chapter 16

***sighs with relief* Ahhh~! Another long chapter, but all the same I'm happy to write it ^_^ I cannot express how grateful and happy I am that so many people (I counted over 23!) are following and reading my story. I'm pretty sure it'll go on for quite a while... ;) Either way, here comes chapter sixteen! Please enjoy~!**

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-Chapter Sixteen-

"Uh... what?" Came a blank reply from the very confused blonde-haired girl. Ed had collapsed onto the ground, his face bright red and his hands running frustratedly through his hair. "Can I hear that again?" Winry asked; Edward glared at her.

"It was hard enough to say the first time, _now_ I have to say it _again?_" He grumbled, trying to cover his blushing face. Winry sighed, and sat down on the asphalt pathway next to him despite the damp and cold texture of the surface.

"All I heard was 'Winry' and 'that cool', Ed," she said, laughing a bit. "Don't be embarrassed, just say it again, slower."

"Easier said than done..." Edward mumbled. He took another breath in and let it out, and repeated,

"Winry... I don't like girls. Sure, I like them as friends, but..."

"...not romantically?" The taller girl finished. Edward nodded, reassured by the fact that she was still smiling.

"And so, I... I'm... g-gay..."

"Well, I kind of expected that from the 'not liking girls' statement," Winry joked, putting an arm around the blonde. "And?"

"I... I'm... I'm dating..."

"Envy?" Edward blushed and hid his face in his arms.

"...you knew?" He said, his voice muffled.

"Well, I didn't _know_, but I guessed that if you were gay you would most likely go with Envy. Since he's your roommate and all," Winry responded as-a-matter-of-factly. Ed raised his head with a surprised facial expression.

"... wait. You know Envy's gay?" He asked incredulously. Winry sighed.

"Well..." she began. "It's not like he's very good at hiding his disinterest in girls... In fact, I think he just outright hates them."

"You think correctly," Ed muttered. "Seems to me that the only female that he would ever voluntarily interact with is his sister, and even that is quite limited..." The blonde-haired girl nodded, and then stood up and held out her hand to the golden-eyed boy.

"Here, get up," she said, as Ed took her hand. "You made a bit of a scene what with your dramatic collapse. Have you been taking lessons from Envy?" She giggled.

"Shut up," Edward grunted. "You have no idea how freaking hard it was to tell you."

"Hey! It's not like I'm some homophobic bitch!" Winry huffed. "But either way, can I say a couple of things?" The blonde boy eyed her suspiciously.

"...what?"

"It's about freaking time you got a girlfriend."

"ENVY IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Ed shouted as loud as he could without letting other people hear. He coughed a bit and continued, "I mean, I would rather you call him my boyfriend, thank you very much." Winry laughed at the boy's manner of speech.

"Fine, he's your _boyfriend_," she teased. "Either way, my next question is: how are you gonna tell Al?"

In response, Edward fell to the ground again as if a ton of bricks had hit him in the head.

"ED?" Winry called anxiously, rushing over to the boy's side.

"How _am_ I gonna tell Al?" Edward whined, pulling at his hair. "Aaargh..." The blonde-haired girl smirked.

"Don't think about it so much, Ed," she soothed. "He loves you with all his heart. Even if you killed Hohenheim he would still adore you." Edward snorted.

"He would probably love me _more_," he joked. "But when should I tell him?" Winry considered this.

"Do you want _me_ to?" She asked, but the shorter boy shook his head.

"No, I have to do it. Maybe I'll call him over during lunch sometime and just tell him."

"Alright, whatever floats yer boat," Winry said. "Now listen to my last question... wanna go shopping with me this weekend?" Ed looked up at her with a face that screamed, "Are you kidding me?"

"Is that supposed to be some kind of gay stereotype?" He asked blankly. Winry laughed, wildly denying that she was making such a judgmental statement.

"No, no, no, no, that's not what I meant!" She protested. "I meant you could bring along Envy and we could hit a bunch of stores in the shopping district and... I dunno, I thought it would be fun, I'm sorry..." Suddenly, the blonde boy was overwhelmed by scenarios and images of all the possible outcomes of such a date.

One scenario he imagined was trying on clothes in the changing room, complimenting every single outfit Envy tried on because he was just _that_ gorgeous. Ed imagined Envy in a dark green turtleneck and white skinny jeans with a gold chain-like belt. The taller boy would grab him by the waist, stroke his face delicately with those long, thin fingers, and kiss him on the lips, and whisper sweet nothings into his ear. After this scenario came another one, where Envy wore a black headband, a thin grey V-neck tank top, black capris that contrasted his pearly white skin, while he himself wore an equally attractive outfit. Envy would whisper in his ear how cute he looked; he would blush and argue, only to receive more compliments and kisses from his black-haired boyfriend. Another scene popped up where he and Envy were again trying things on, and he would exit his stall in new clothes for Envy to compliment, only to find the taller boy completely shirtless...

It was that moment where Ed's nose started bleeding again.

"Agh! Ed!" Winry yelled, scrambling backwards and bringing Edward back to reality. His face turned bright red as he messily searched his backpack for a packet of tissues. Upon finding one, he immediately crammed as many tissues as possible to his nostrils so to stop the blood flow. Winry, still feeling a bit squeamish about the blood, walked back over to the embarrassed blonde boy.

"I, uh..." Ed stuttered, hiding his face from Winry.

"Overexcited much? What were _you_ thinking about?" Winry said suggestively, making Edward do all he could to suppress the punch trying to leap from his arm.

"Shut up, Winry..." was all he could get out. The blonde-haired girl smiled.

"So I guess that's a yes to the shopping thing?" She asked.

"Yeah, I guess... I'll ask Envy when I get back to the dorm." He clumsily stood up, a bit light-headed from the nosebleed. Winry looked at him concernedly.

"Are you fine getting back to the dorm by yourself?" She asked, her concerns caused by the dizzy look in Ed's eyes. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna go to the student union store and buy some cold medicine for Envy," the blonde boy responded, picking his bag up from the ground and turning away from Winry. Suddenly, he turned back and looked straight into her blue eyes. "Hey, Winry?"

"What's up?" She asked.

"Please, uh... don't tell anyone about this quite yet. Envy, for some reason, doesn't want anyone other than the, uh... most important people to us, know," he stumbled over his words, but still managed to get his point across. Winry nodded gently.

"Okay, Ed."

"Thanks," Edward responded, shuffling his feet a bit.

"No problem, Ed." She turned away to walk towards her dorm building, but Edward stopped her again.

"And, Winry?"

"Yeah?" She asked.

"... thank you." Still not facing Edward, Winry smiled softly at Ed's sudden gratitudes.

"You're welcome, Ed." The blonde-haired girl said, walking away and waving goodbye. Edward waved back, saying to himself, "You know... if Alphonse were to go after her, I would be happy for him." Suddenly, he was hit with the idea of his little brother getting a girlfriend. With a slight elder-sibling shiver down his spine, he decided not to think about it until the time came. Ed turned around, glancing around a bit until he spotted the student store, and walked in that direction to buy Envy's cold medicine.

Upon arriving at room 615, Ed knocked on the door out of politeness.

"Envy, I'm back! And with cold medicine for you," he called. "Can I come in?" There was no response from inside. Assuming the black-haired boy was asleep, Edward took out his keys and let himself in. The first thing he saw was, of course, Envy, who was relaxing on his bed and listening to music on his iPod; this explained why there was no response. The taller boy was still in his pajamas and his hair was messier than ever, but luckily he was looking much better than he did this morning. Ed could hear Envy humming along to the music he listened to, with his eyes closed as if he were sleeping.

"_EN_VY!" Ed yelled, getting the black-haired boy's attention. Envy yanked the headphones out of ears, elegantly stood up, and gliding across the carpet to his little blonde boy.

"Edward!" He almost sang, hugging his boyfriend in the tightest of hugs. Ed smiled, petting the black-haired boy's head.

"How're you feeling?" The blonde asked.

"I'm feeling over one thousand times better since you came home," Envy responded, kissing Edward on the cheek. "How was school?"

"Eh, it was okay," Ed mumbled. "I got notes for you for the classes we share, but you'll have to contact other people for the rest of the work." The taller boy smiled.

"I'll get the stuff tomorrow; teachers can't do much against us if we only missed one day. We _are_ the ones who pay _them_, anyways." Ed nodded, a bit confused from the explanation but still happy to be in Envy's arms again.

"You're good enough to return tomorrow?" Ed asked.

"I have to be; I was too lonely today without you," Envy responded sweetly, making the blonde blush. Ed squirmed around a bit to let Envy know to let go of him; upon doing so, the black-haired boy looked upon Edward's face with concern.

"Ed, did you get into a fight?" He asked anxiously. The blonde looked at him, confused, but then realized that he must still have a bit of blood smeared on his face.

"No no no no no! No one beat me up or anything, I, uh..." Edward struggled to come up with an excuse so to hide the fact he had a nosebleed from his dream scenarios. "I... I tripped on the stairs and fell on my face. My nose started bleeding." Envy eyed him suspiciously.

"That's the lie that _every person_ that got beat up makes," he remarked. "Tell the truth, or else I'll tickle you."

"Tickle me?" Ed said teasingly. "I promise, I didn't get beat up. I just had a nosebleed, that's all."

"... from what?" Envy asked, as Edward dropped his bag and collapsed onto his bed.

"I told you, I fell on the stairs..." the blonde trailed off. Envy locked eyes with him, sending waves of guilt into his heart. "I..." The black-haired boy walked over to him, pushed Ed back onto the mattress by the shoulders, and kissed him deeply on the lips. Edward's mind turned fuzzy as his arms wrapped around Envy, bringing the boy closer to him. He stroked the taller boy's spine gently, kissing him and feeling his heart pound in his ears. Only one thought could surface: the thought that he wanted to stay there forever.

"So, how _did_ you get that nosebleed?" Envy asked.

"I _told _you, I fell down the stairs!" Ed argued.

"Liar!" Envy exclaimed, moving his hands down to the blonde's stomach and slightly tickling it. "Tell the truth, shrimp!"

"I am NOT a shrimp!" Edward yelled back, attempting to fend off the black-haired boy's advances.

"Yes, you are!" The taller boy gleefully exclaimed, pushing forward and tickling Ed's ribs; the blonde immediately started to laugh, his body thrashing from the waves of tickles.

"S-stop, Envy! That... aargh!" He lurched forward, shoving his boyfriend off of him and onto the floor. Ed then jumped on top of him, pinned him down, and started to tickle him as Envy was doing just moments ago.

"H-Hey! Is this any way to treat a sick person!" Envy said, uttering hearty laughs caused by Ed's hands. "S-stop tickling me! Hahahahahahaha! S-stop, E-Ed!" He continued to writhe around under Edward's grasp, unable to get free. His hands slipped up to the blonde's sides, and started to tickle him again.

"A-Agh! Envy!" Ed giggled, collapsing onto the black-haired boy and hugging him tightly. The tickling ceased, as Envy's arms wrapped around him as well.

"You... smell like coconuts, Envy." Ed mumbled, his face buried in Envy's hair. The comment took the receiver of it aback.

"Coconuts?" He asked. "Must be the shampoo or something. What, you got a problem with that?"

"No, not at all," Edward snickered. "It suits you, since you're such a palm tree." He felt Envy tap him on the head teasingly.

"I'm _not_ a palm tree," he stated.

"And _I'm _not a shrimp," Ed remarked.

"_Sure_ you're not," Envy said sarcastically.

"I'm still growing!" The blonde said.

"Not if you don't drink your milk," The black-haired boy teased.

"You mean _cow juice_?" Edward corrected.

"Would you drink coconut milk because I smell like it?" Envy asked, his violet eyes piercing through Ed's golden ones. A small smile curled upon his lips as Edward blushed. The blonde stood, yanking the taller boy up behind him, deciding to change the subject.

"Oh, yeah, Winry invited us to go shopping with her this weekend," he mentioned, loosening his tie. He heard Envy hit his head against the wall.

"Is that supposed to be a sick stereotypical gay-guys-like-shopping joke?" He groaned.

"No, it's not; she thought it would be fun for us to go out on a date like that or something..." Ed trailed off, recounting the scenarios that played in his mind's theater.

"Well, it could be fun..." Envy also trailed off, his own mind's theater dreaming of scenarios that were incredibly similar, if not identical, to Edward's; if one could see these dreams, they would call Envy very vain indeed.

"Really? You would want to do that?" The blonde asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," the black-haired boy said, trying not to let his own excitement show. Ed walked up to him, kissed him on the cheek, then disappeared into the bathroom to get into his sleepwear. Although there was still dinner later that night, no one really cared that much if you showed up in your pajamas. In fact, most people did so; probably because the uniforms were a bit on the uncomfortable side.

Envy collapsed back onto his bed, clicking on his iPod again and popping his earbuds in. He pressed a button, and the music resumed to play in his ears. The black-haired boy listened to a couple of songs on shuffle, until one particular song came up that painfully plucked his heartstrings. A male voice sang,

"_Here I am back home again,_

_I'm here to rest._

_All they ask is where I've been,_

_Knowing I've been west._" A bitter taste rose in Envy's throat as he listened, for he was remembering things that were still left unsaid. When the chorus came on, he quietly sang with it,

"_I'm the family's unowned boy,_

_Golden curls of envied hair,_

_Pretty girls with faces fair,_

_See the shine in the black sheep boy..."_ If he had been paying attention, Envy would have heard the bathroom door click open and seen Edward emerge.

"You okay, Envy?" Came Ed's downsized voice, clear enough to startle the black-haired boy into painfully pulling his earphones out.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine," he said, shutting his iPod off and tossing it into his suitcase. "Just listening to some music, that's all." The look on the blonde's face was mixed; it was a combination of worry, sadness, pity and... love. Envy stood, went over to his little blonde boy, and delicately kissed him on the lips.

"Don't worry, Ed. I'm fine. I always will be, when I'm with you," he said, hugging Edward tightly.

"Alright," was all Ed could say in response. Envy pulled back, looking the blonde up and down with his plum-colored eyes. He then grinned widely, a faint blush rising on his cheeks.

"You're so cute," he remarked, making Edward blush as well.

"Meh. I need to get started on my homework, so if you don't mind..." Ed trailed off, leaving the end of his sentence open to interpretation.

"I'll help you. I don't have any work anyways, so I might as well, you know?" Envy proposed awkwardly, letting go of Edward, who was eyeing him confusedly.

"... okay? I might as well let you because you'll distract me more otherwise," the blonde chuckled, picking up his bag and emptying the contents onto the floor. "But you know what would be _really awesome_ of you?"

"What would that be, O'Chibi-san?" Envy asked, grabbing a pen off the side table and plopping down on the floor.

"If you could do... my trig homework," Ed grinned, sitting down next to Envy. "It's a favor of sorts for the seven times you've copied my notes for History because, I quote, 'Mustang's voice irritated me so much I just blocked it out and slept through the entire class,' end quote."

"It was...!" Envy counted the number of times in his head, and then sulked a bit. "You _have_ to admit he's like a little bug buzzing in your ear, like bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..." He executed the "bzzz" sound complete with pinching his thumb and forefinger together and waving it around near Ed's ear, similar to the manner of the so-called bug he was referring to.

"Alright, I get it!" Edward laughed. "But if you do the trig stuff and I copy it over, I'll do something nice for you."

Envy chuckled. "Like trying on a dress when we go shopping this weekend?" He asked, deserving a nice notebook in the face from a blushing-mad Edward.

"SHUT _UP_!" He shouted embarrassedly, causing Envy to break into peals of laughter. "Just do it!"

"You know, I never thought such a super-A student like _you_ would _ever_ think of letting someone else do his homework and him copying it later," Envy commented after he had calmed down a bit. Ed snorted.

"I would do _anything_ to avoid doing trig homework," he justified.

"_Anything?_" Envy repeated suggestively, earning him a playful shove from Edward.

"Not the way you think," the blonde corrected as Envy shoved him back a bit.

After an hour or two, the homework was finished and the two went down to eat dinner. Luckily for Ed, milk wasn't on the menu of drinks so Envy couldn't tease him about ingesting it. Edward and Envy ate beef stew and pizza, respectively, and then grabbed a cup of hot chocolate each to bring up into their room with them. As they reentered their room and gulped down the delicious hot drink, Ed shoved his books back into his bag and thanked Envy for helping him. With a kiss given in return, the two boys spent their last few waking hours simply talking and sharing stories about everything and anything; of course, many kisses and hugs were exchanged in the process. However, no matter how much the either one tried, little to no information was revealed about each other's families; Ed interpreted it as just bad luck that both their parents and/or families just kinda sucked. When Edward checked his phone for the time (which was 10:40PM), he decided he would go to bed and proposed the same for Envy.

As he climbed into his bed, he felt a second weight join him under the covers.

"Envy! What're you doing, aren't you still sick?" Ed exclaimed, wrestling with the covers to turn and face Envy.

"O' Edward, dost thou wish to spend yet another moon's rising alone in one's bed without thy lover?" Envy smiled, touching his lips to the blonde's forehead. "No, my lover, thy lover is not condemned with illness so that he cannot sleep in thy bed on this wonderful night." Edward blushed, ever so slightly edging closer to the black-haired boy, who automatically wrapped his arms around him.

"Goodnight, Envy," Ed whispered, his eyes closing and his breathing becoming slow.

"Nighty-night, O'Chibi-san."

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**Disclaimer: the song I quoted in this chapter is "Black Sheep Boy" performed by Okkervil River (the original songwriter is Tim Hardin). I don't own this song or any of the lyrics or other songs; I'm saying this just to make sure I don't get sued ^_^**


	18. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the late update! I didn't have a lot of time today to write so I'm a bit behind schedule in the way of chapters... my dearest apologies if I'm not able to update tomorrow ;A; But still, I'm so grateful that I have so many readers who love my work. Thank you, and please enjoy chapter 17!**

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-Chapter Seventeen- (That Saturday)

_Ah?_ Envy said within his dream. _What's going on? Where... huh?_ He looked around the empty space he stood in, unsure if he was experiencing reality or fantasy. The black-haired boy stumbled back with a start as his eyes laid on a pale figure walking towards him. Sweat beaded up on Envy's face as he came to realize who the figure was: his own father, donning long blonde hair and long, white, flowing robes.

_What the hell do __**you**__ want, Father?_ Envy asked angrily. Without saying a word, Envy's father grabbed him by the neck and brought the boy to his face. Envy grabbed at the powerful hands to free himself, but frighteningly, his own hands passed through his father's as if he were invisible.

_Agh...! Father, what're you...?_ Envy gasped, his eyes welling up with tears from the pain.

_You're __**worthless**__._ Was the last thing the black-haired boy heard before he woke with a start, breathing hard and drenched in sweat.

He sat up in bed, holding his head and wiping the sweat off his arms. From the scent that surrounded him, Envy assumed he had fallen asleep in Ed's bed. However, the boy himself wasn't sleeping next to him. It was that point where Envy heard a trill beeping sound whose origin did not lie with the dormitory phone. Instead, the ring emanated from around the corner of the room; as Envy's violet eyes followed the sound, he found his blonde-haired boy slumped over at the desk in the corner of the room, with his phone ringing wildly next to him

"There's a desk in here?" Envy wondered ignorantly, stepping out of bed and towards the shorter boy. He picked up the phone first to see that Edward had set an alarm to go off at 8:30AM; it obviously didn't do its job very well since it hadn't woken the blonde up even in the slightest. Envy clicked off the alarm and bent down to face Ed's sleeping face, which was comfortably resting on his arms which, in turn, were resting on the desk. He noticed a small portion of paper peeking out from under the smaller boy, but decided he would wake him up before anything else.

"Ed... Edwaaaaard..." The black haired boy cooed, nudging Ed in the ribs. "It's time to get uuuup, Edwaaaaard... We have to go see Wiiiiinryyyyyy..." Edward stirred a bit, but his eyes still remained shut. Knowing not what else to do, Envy leaned over and delicately kissed the blonde's eyelids so as to wake him. "O'Chibi-saaaaaaan..."

Suddenly, Edward's eyes fluttered open and settled on Envy. Envy smiled, inwardly proclaiming, "Yes! He's awake!" while hugging his boyfriend.

"Good morning, Ed!" He exclaimed as the blonde sat up in his chair.

"Good morning..." Edward mumbled sleepily. "I guess I fell asleep while working, huh?" Envy nodded, and scolded in a mock-motherly tone, "You're not supposed to do that, Edward. It'll hurt your back!" Ed chuckled, tapping the black-haired boy on the shoulder, until his eyes moved towards the paper on his desk. He blushed and quickly snapped it off the table, not letting Envy get even a glimpse of a word.

"I, uh... yeah. What time is it, about?" The blonde asked, still blushing a bit. His sudden reaction raised suspicion within Envy; the taller boy pondered what secrets that paper could hold if his boyfriend reacted so outrageously about it. However, his heart still unsteady from his nightmare, Envy decided to move past it and focus on his wonderful little Ed.

"Roughly 8:30AM, I'd say," Envy said, getting behind Edward and lifting him up out of his seat by the underarms. "I just turned off your little phone alarm, which I'm guessing you set because we're going shopping with Winry today...?" Now up on his feet, Ed nodded.

"Yeah. I'm thinking we should just skip breakfast and meet her, because knowing Winry she's probably already waiting out there," he proposed. "We should also wear... relatively loose or easy-to-remove clothing, since we'll probably be trying on clothes a lot today..." Envy put on a lecherous smirk.

"'Easy-to-remove'? What kind of date are _you_ planning, Ed?" He joked, raising a blush upon the blonde's cheeks.

"TH-TH-THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Edward screeched, quickly grabbing a pillow from his bed and hitting Envy in the face with it. The black-haired boy stumbled back a bit, but then grabbed his own pillow and proceeded to hit the shorter boy right back.

"It sure _sounded_ like it, you little horny cutie," Envy teased, commencing a full-out pillow fight with his boyfriend.

"I am **NOT** little!" Ed yelled, launching himself forward and crashing into the taller boy, who was now laughing his head off.

"I love how you focused on 'little' rather than 'horny,' Ed," he remarked, defending himself with the pillow. "So does that mean it's true?"

"N-N-NO!" The blonde blushed deeply, smacking Envy again with the pillow. "Aaargh!" Envy had grabbed his pillow, threw it aside along with his own, and held Edward by the waist.

"I like _this_ better than fighting, don't you?" He asked seductively. Ed smirked, and wrapped his arms around Envy's neck.

"I like _anything_ I do with you, Envy," he responded, oblivious to the obvious innuendo he was making. At least, obvious to Envy.

"_Anything?_" Envy said, right on cue.

"_NOT_ the way you're thinking..." Edward corrected, realizing his slip of words.

"And what am I thinking, Ed?" The taller boy provoked.

"You know what you're thinking."

"Well, tell me!"

"No!"

"Aha! You admit that you were thinking that I was thinking something dirty!" Envy laughed, teasing the little blonde boy and seeing that absolutely adorable face Edward wore when he was blushing.

"But you _were_, weren't you?" Ed asked.

"Who knows?" The black-haired boy said ambiguously. "I could have been thinking of unicorn-shaped marshmallows, for all you know."

"... unicorn-shaped marshmallows?"

"Just imagine how awesome that would be, Ed. Just _imagine_ it," Envy said with a tone of total ridiculousness. Edward snorted and started to laugh. "What? You got a problem with unicorn marshmallows?"

"No, it's just... It's so spectacularly funny to hear you sound like such a _gay guy_," the blonde started to break into a full-out laughing fit. "And we're going _clothes shopping_ together! How fricking gay _are_ we?" Envy, upon realizing how incredibly true this was, started to break into a fit of laughter as well. For a good 5 minutes after, the two were collapsed on the floor, out of breath and their diaphragms cramping.

"... we're not _that_ gay, are we, Ed?" Envy asked innocently.

"Nah, no one is _really_ like that," Edward reassured. "And even if someone was, who cares? People should be allowed to be who they want to be, without anyone telling them what they should or shouldn't act like." The black-haired boy's face turned solemn, remembering the nightmare he experienced. He lifted himself over Edward, and then gently kissed him on the lips.

"You have _no_ idea how right you are, O'Chibi-san," Envy said, his heart warm as he looked down at the blonde. He stood, pulling Edward up behind him. "We should probably get dressed in those 'easy-to-remove' clothes, hey, Ed?"

"It was an _innocent suggestion_," Edward responded irritatedly. "Just go get dressed."

A few minutes later, Envy emerged from the bathroom in a black hoodie, beige cargo pants and a beanie hat, while Ed greeted him dressed in his oversized red jacket, a t-shirt that simply said, "Pop Culture Reference," and relatively loose black jeans.

"What's up with you and the comedic t-shirts, Ed?" Envy asked, indicating at the shirt the blonde currently wore.

"What? I like them because they're entertaining. Problem?" Edward responded, a bit on the defensive side. Envy circled around him and hugged him from behind, moving his lips close to the shorter boy's ear.

"I have no problem at all when it comes to you, Ed," he whispered, sending pleasurable shivers down the blonde's spine. Edward turned, kissed Envy on the cheek, then wriggled himself free. The black-haired boy noticed yet another faint pink blush color the boy's face.

"Come on, grab your wallet or whatever and we'll get going," Ed said.

"Wallet? I thought you were paying for me, O'Chibi-san," Envy joked, heading over to his bag and grabbing a dark green leather wallet from it. "Or is it I that is forking over the cash this time?"

"We can both pay for our own stuff," the blonde said, checking his jean pocket for his own wallet. "Hopefully Winry will do the same." With that, Ed grabbed his and Envy's keys off the side table and opened the front door; Envy elegantly but ridiculously glided through the doorway, planting a sweet kiss on his sweet little Edward's lips.

"Hey! Over here!" A loud voice yelled as Edward and Envy began their journey out on the campus. They turned to the direction of the voice to find Winry, in all her glory, standing at the northern gates and loudly trying to get their attention. "I grabbed some breakfast for ya! Come and get it!" Ed waved back in acknowledgement, and then turned to Envy.

"Feel like running?" He asked, and Envy mockingly scoffed.

"I'm in track, of _course_ I would want to run more than I have to," the taller boy responded sarcastically, but then laughed and nodded in approval. Edward inadvertently grabbed Envy's hand, held it tightly, and started to run forward with his boyfriend right next to him. Ed could see the warm smile on Winry's face from even halfway across the campus; she was obviously having a bit of a cute-gasm over there. He heard Envy breathing hard and deep, giving his all into running as fast as he could. It was absolutely exhilarating.

Upon stopping, the two boys were completely out of breath, wheezing and crouching over in front of the blonde-haired girl. She grinned good-naturedly, waiting patiently for them to regain their breathing and holding a warm bag with unknown breakfast foods inside.

"So, what'd you get us, Win?" Edward asked, peering into the bag. Winry waved him away as she pulled out two warm cinnamon buns and two cups of hot chocolate for them both.

"I already ate, so..." she said, holding out the buns and cups. "Eat up, we have to get an early start before the shops get too crowded." Envy grabbed his breakfast first, unable to contain a smile as he inhaled the sweet scent of cinnamon and icing.

"So, uh... where did you get these?" Envy asked, speaking to Winry for the first time ever since he had met her. She looked a bit surprised, but responded as she normally would.

"Just a little café outside the campus. I usually sneak out in the morning with Paninya to grab breakfast there before school because I'm not too much of a fan of the food here..." Winry responded. "Is it good?" The question came literally right after Envy had taken a bite into the warm bun, his senses overwhelmed by the sheer deliciousness.

"... if I were a stereotypical gay guy, I would say this is..." Envy posed with dramatic jazz hands, singing the last part of his sentence, "...FABULOUS~!" Both Edward and Winry burst out laughing at Envy's joke. The black-haired boy grinned, considering the idea that despite his relative dislike of girls, he could get along with Winry; it could benefit him in the long run when he's looking for a gift for his blonde-haired boyfriend.

"But seriously, this is really good," he said, pointing at his sweet for emphasis. Edward nodded in agreement, taking a sip of his drink.

"And the hot chocolate is really good, too!" Ed remarked. "So rich. I wonder what makes it that way..." Suddenly, Envy and Winry started to snicker, sharing the answer to the blonde's pondering as if they could read each other's minds. "What? What is it?" He asked, panicked.

"Do you want me to tell you the dirty answer or the actual answer?" Envy asked, already planning out his spectacular gut-buster.

"... I'm afraid to know either one of them," Edward stated with a shaky tone in his voice.

"Alright, dirty one it is: the shopkeepers thicken it with their own se-"

"OKAY, TOO FAR!" Winry interrupted, her face grinning and bright red. "Don't want to scar him too much, do you?" She sent the rhetorical question towards Envy.

"I've already scarred him enough, if you know what I mean," he responded sarcastically, making both blondes turn a deep shade of red while his pale skin remained its normal color. Envy smirked perversely for added effect.

"_EN_VY!" Edward shouted, elbowing the black-haired boy in the ribs. "Winry, I promise you, this _palm tree_ is just being a _moron_." The taller girl nodded, giggling a bit. After a small moment of scuffling between the boyfriends, she asked,

"But Ed, do you _really_ not know what they put in hot chocolate?"

"If I _did_ know, we wouldn't have had this discussion, now would we?" He retorted. Winry sighed.

"They add..." she paused for emphasis, as Ed took another sip of the hot chocolate.

"_Milk."_

Not two seconds later, the hot chocolate reappeared in a spit-out high-speed mist.

"_ED!"_ Envy and Winry yelled simultaneously. "That's _absolutely __**disgusting!**_" Edward wiped his mouth with his sleeve, coughing and scrunching his nose up at the drink in his hand.

"To _think_ that I thought you were tasty..." he admonished the hot chocolate, glaring at it and cursing it away.

"But, Ed! Just because something has milk doesn't mean it can't be delicious!" Winry argued, trying to reason with the shorter boy.

"YES, IT DOES!" The blonde-haired boy shouted, making a retching sound for an added touch of emphasis.

"Whatever you say, O'Chibi-san," Envy teased, pulling Edward by the hand towards the gate and motioning towards the taller girl. "Come on, let's get going." Winry nodded and Ed sobered, hesitantly taking another sip of the hot drink and finishing off his cinnamon bun.

_It doesn't __**taste**__ like milk, at least..._ he thought. And with that, the three headed out into the shopping district, with Envy and Edward separately fantasizing of what wonderful encounters and scenarios that they may face with each other. _Hopefully,_ Ed thought. _Hopefully Envy won't make me try on a dress like he said he would on Monday._ He shuddered at the thought. _**He**__ would be the one better suited to it, anyways..._


	19. Chapter 18

***wistful sigh* I loved writing this chapter. I've always loved describing clothing and all, especially things as epic as steampunk. Either way, sorry about updating late again; weekdays are difficult ;A; Nonetheless, I proudly present to you, chapter 18! ^_^**

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-Chapter Eighteen-

"Wowwww..." Winry muttered as she gazed longingly into the windows of a specialty clothing and costume shop. Edward looked up at the rustic-styled sign and read, "Neo-Victorian and Steampunk Specialty Clothing." He sighed, smiling at the realization of how steampunk was so incredibly like Winry; ever since they were little kids, the blonde-haired girl had adored tinkering around with the gears in her toys, thus sparking her desire to become a technical engineer. The steampunk style of clothing was something of a dream to her.

"We have to go in," Winry stated, her fingers pressing against the glass and looking back at the two boys with her. "You _have_ to admit that steampunk is the coolest thing on the planet." Envy and Ed laughed at the girl's intensity, but soon agreed to enter the shop. The only thing that stirred a bit of concern in Ed was the incredibly high pricing of the clothing; the dress displayed on the mannequin in the shop window clocked out at an outrageous $300.

"Say, Envy," the blonde-haired boy said. The black-haired boy nodded in acknowledgement as he examined a rusty gold-colored waistcoat decorated in abstract mechanical patterns. "Have you ever _been_ clothes shopping before?" Envy snorted.

"No, Ed, I just let my _dad_ pick my clothes out _for _me," he responded sarcastically. "Yes, I've been shopping before. With my sister, most of the time. But more recently I haven't been since I've stopped growing." He nudged his boyfriend provocatively. "But _you're_ still growing, right?"

"Shut. Up," Edward stated, waving Envy's nudging away. "But no, I meant shopping as in _shopping._ To specialty stores like this, or gothic, or punk, or whatever." He picked up a brown and red bowler hat and tried it on.

"Oh. Then no," Envy said. "It's mainly Lust that's into this kinda thing. Gothic clothing is sort of her thing... you look quite spiffy in that hat, by the way." Ed took off the hat and plopped it on the taller boy's head.

"Not as spiffy as you would," he said teasingly, looking around a bit for Winry, who had long disappeared into the depths of the clothing store. Envy stood silently, trying to get his hair to cover his face so that Edward couldn't see his quickly reddening face.

_That little shrimp,_ he thought affectionately. _Making me all... meep._ After a good 20 minutes, the two boys had met up with Winry, whose arms were full with piles of clothing she wished to try on. Similarly, Envy and Ed had surprisingly found a good amount of clothes that they wanted to try on as well.

"See, this isn't so bad!" Winry remarked optimistically. "It's such a shame that this stuff is so expensive though. Either way, I'm gonna go into the dressing room and try on some of this stuff. I'm guessing you guys want to do that, too?" Envy nodded, while Ed was hesitating because of the fantasy that just appeared in his mind. The blonde-haired girl smiled brightly, then turned down a hallway that led to the female's dressing room. Calling the shorter boy back to attention, Envy held Edward's hand gently and led the way down another hallway, which in turn led to the male's dressing room.

"So are we using one big stall or two separate ones?" Envy asked, his emphasis being on the former. Ed blushed at the thought, automatically muttering "two separate, two separate" out of pure innocence. A bit disappointed, Envy nodded and entered a stall; the blonde went into one directly next to it. The dressing room was (most likely) completely empty, probably because it was still only around 9:30. Even so, Edward felt a bit shy about speaking to his boyfriend through the stall. Luckily for him, the black-haired boy was feeling talkative enough to break the silence and initiate a conversation.

"Some of this stuff is really hard to put on," the taller boy said, fumbling with the small buttons on a dress shirt.

"Yeah, you're right on that," Ed responded, facing similar troubles with his shirt cuffs. "Did you check the price tags on some of these things? I glanced at one of the dresses Winry was holding and the tag said $219. Two-hundered and nineteen dollars!" He heard Envy emit a low whistle.

"I hope your girlfriend has a boatload of cash in that little purse if she intends to buy all that stuff." Edward groaned a bit.

"Don't call her that. I've already heard that enough for five lifetimes; I don't need to hear it from my boyfriend, too," the blonde retorted. Envy smirked.

"I'm your boyfriend, aren't I?" He asked rhetorically, causing Ed to blush.

"Y-yeah, you are." Envy sighed happily.

"I love being called your boyfriend," he said with a voice of honey. The black-haired boy adjusted his shirt collar a bit, examining himself in the mirror and judging if he looked gorgeous enough to be seen by his wonderful blonde boy. Edward had no response, for his heart was in his throat and he was fighting the urge to bust into Envy's stall and start kissing the boy like mad. He instead focused his attention to putting on a complex full-arm glove; it had caught his eye in that it was designed to look like a real mechanical prosthetic. Ed slipped his right arm into the glove, admiring how metallic the designers had made it; the glove was covered in "turning" gears and rods, with a light steel backing and a silver coating that made it look real. The faux-prosthetic shone in the light, fascinating the blonde boy that wore it.

"Whoa..." he muttered, loud enough to catch Envy's attention.

"What? What is it?" The black-haired boy piped up.

"It's this full-arm glove-like thing, it looks like some really cool arm prosthetic, or something..." Ed trailed off, as he delicately stroked the metal with his left hand.

"Can I see?" Envy asked, clicking open the lock to his stall and knocking on Ed's. The blonde looked down and realized he had yet to try on a pair of pants to go with his entire assembly. The taller boy jiggled the lock, presumably already fully dressed, and said, "Come out, I wanna see!"

"N-No, not yet!" Edward protested, clumsily grabbing a pair of pants off their hanger and slipping into them.

"Why not?" Envy asked.

"I'm... not fully dressed yet!" Ed responded embarrassedly, buttoning the pants and fumbling with the belt. "Give me one second, okay?" There was a pause, as if the black-haired boy actually had to consider whether or not to let his little blonde boy finish dressing.

"... alright. I'll be standing right here with open arms, my adorable little Edward," Ed heard Envy say with a slight tremble in his voice, as if he was nervous in saying such sweet words. He smiled, knowing that as perverted as his boyfriend could be sometimes, there still existed the sense of innocence that told Ed he shouldn't be afraid. Edward tightened the belt buckle, adjusted the hat he was wearing, and stepped out of his stall to present himself to Envy.

Immediately, both boys were blown away be each other's outfits. Envy wore a black dress shirt decorated with frills at the cuffs and down the button line, burgundy corduroys with a faded black trim, black fingerless gloves, black and white spectator boots, and a black felt top hat with a gold band circling the brim; in his hand was a long cane with an elaborately designed silver handle. His spiky black hair was tied back into a loose ponytail with a dark red bow, yet some locks of hair remained loose around his face.

Edward, on the other hand, wore a brown waistcoat with gold clock-shaped buttons over a white dress shirt, leather sleeve bands with gear-shaped faux buckles on his left arm, his magnificent prosthetic arm glove on his right arm, tight black trousers, tall brown boots with a copper trim, and finally a pair of machinist's goggles pushed up onto his forehead.

For a few moments, the two boys just stood there silently, admiring their opposite's clothing and looks and overall attractiveness. Surprisingly, Ed was the first one to speak.

"You look..." he began. "Amazing, Envy. Would I be right to assume you have a thing for the color black?" Envy smirked nervously, hardly hiding the blush rising on his cheeks.

"Yes, you would be correct," he confirmed in a formal tone of voice; Edward guessed it was to match his very classy outfit. "And you, kind sir, do look as if you just walked out of a steampunk-themed film, what with that gorgeous prosthetic and fancy waistcoat. Absolutely marvelous." Yes, it was indeed the outfit. So, Ed decided to play along for a bit.

"Is that so? Then, why thank you, good sir," the blonde responded, trying to hold back a giggle at his own tone of voice.

"May I examine your prosthetic at a more close perspective?" Envy asked, stepping a bit towards the boy with braided hair.

"You may indeed," was all the black-haired boy needed to hear to make an advance on Edward and kiss him right on the lips. Envy's bony yet strong hands held Ed's waist, and, in turn, Ed wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck. Ever so slowly, the two were backing away into the blonde's changing stall and were intensifying the kiss at exponential rates.

"Ed?" Envy whispered, breaking the kiss by only a centimeter.

"Yeah, Envy?" Edward asked, his heart pounding from the kissing.

"Have I ever told you how adorable you are?" Ed blushed, and smiled meekly.

"I can't seem to recall," he said sarcastically. "Have I ever told _you_ how _incredibly gorgeous _you are?" Now, it was finally Envy's turn to blush like mad. Which, in fact, he did.

"I... I-I-I..." he stuttered, feeling his own heart pound from the strong feelings he had for the boy in front of him. "I've... never had anyone compliment me before. Especially not like this..." Ed smiled, and rose to kiss his boyfriend once again.

"Oh, yeah!" Envy exclaimed. He rushed over into his stall, grabbed his cargo pants, and came back to Ed. Searching every single pocket, Envy conjured up a digital camera and held it out to Edward. "Here. Let's take a couple of pictures for safe-keeping. And I'll bet that prosthetic glove that Winry'll want to see, too." The blonde nodded in agreement, smiling at a fantasy of making a huge album filled with photos of himself and Envy. Perhaps he would suggest it when they got back to the dorm. Envy chucked aside his cargo pants, took the camera back, and gestured for Ed to strike a pose.

"Alright, now's your time to look fabulous, Ed," the black-haired boy chuckled along with Edward, holding up his camera to take a picture. Playing along again, the blonde turned his "metal" arm towards the lens and flexed it, looking tough but still incredibly cute. "Cheese!"

About 20 photos later of Ed and Envy in various poses of the silly, the adorable, the tough, and the classy kind, the two decided to redress and head out to meet up with Winry again.

"So, how much does that glove cost?" Envy asked, pointing at the metallic arm that Edward was holding. The blonde checked the tag, and recoiled with great despair.

"...a hundred and fifty dollars. Goddammit, it's so freaking cool!" Ed said disappointedly, hanging his tried-on clothes on a rack outside the room labeled, "to be washed." The black-haired boy looked at him sadly, unsure of what to do. But suddenly, he pulled out his wallet, took out three fifty dollar bills, and showed them to his shorter boyfriend.

"Here. You can have this; I wasn't planning on buying anything here, anyways," Envy said, pressing the bills into Ed's hand; the receiver of the money wore an incredibly shocked face at the amount of cash his boyfriend was just carrying around.

"No, it's okay, Envy; I don't really need it. You should spend the money on something for yours-"

"I've already done that enough in my lifetime!" The black-haired boy interrupted sharply, but instantly regretted it as the blonde's face turned solemn. "I.. I mean that I want you to have it, so you can buy the thing that you want. I... I just want to make you happy." Just as fast as it turned solemn, Edward's face warmed into a soft smile.

"Envy... you have already made me happier than I could have ever remembered being before," he responded sweetly, clutching the bills in his hand. He kissed Envy on the cheek, whispered, "thank you," and then hurried away to go purchase the faux prosthetic without another word.

_Oh, Ed..._ Envy thought. _You have no idea how ironic that statement is; you say I've made you happier than ever before, but really, it's you that's the one making me happier than I ever thought I could be._


	20. Chapter 19

**I AM BACK! Celebrate, my wonderful readers! I have successfully caught up with everything I needed to catch up with. I hope you are still here to read my story ^_^''' Either way, I present you with chapter 19! Please enjoy, and thank you for reading~!**

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-Chapter Nineteen-

The two met up with Winry, who had purchased only one skirt that alone clocked out at over $70. Edward had hidden the metallic glove from her curious blue eyes, for if she saw it she would immediately worry about how much it cost; worrying more was something he knew Winry didn't need. However, Ed and Envy still delightfully showed her all the photos they took together, pointing out the beauty in each and every strand of fabric. The blonde-haired girl had failed to take any pictures, but had a wonderful time all the same.

The three continued deeper into the shopping district, noticing that the stores were getting busier and busier as they went on. A large clock in a storefront proclaimed that the time was 10:12AM; there was still a relatively long day of shopping ahead of the boyfriends. However, neither of them seemed to mind, for as long as they were together, nothing could be too bothersome.

The next shop they entered was another specialty store; one that sold gothic, punk and lolita clothing. Winry had already entered the shop and was looking around, but the two guys decided to hang outside for a bit and get some fresh air.

"Hey, check it out, O'Chibi-san," Envy called, gesturing at a mannequin in the store window. "Think that would suit you well?" The blonde looked up to see an incredibly fancy and ruffly red dress with a black-trimmed corset and a matching hat. He blushed, and frighteningly looked back to their conversation on Monday.

"You're... you're not gonna make me try that on... are you?" Edward asked anxiously, already feeling sweat bead up on his skin. But, to his luck, the black-haired boy shook his head and playfully hooked his arm around the blonde's shoulder.

"Nah, I won't make you try it on," he reassured. "I'll just imagine an elaborate fantasy in which I seduce you into doing so or I threaten to pour a gallon of milk on your head if you don't wear it... I sigh wistfully." Ed groaned at Envy's kidding, but was amused by them all the same.

"Geez, with an attitude like that you might as well make me," Edward said sarcastically. Envy smirked.

"What, you _want_ me to?" He asked playfully.

"NO!" The blonde yelled, glaring at the black-haired boy. "Come on, let's go inside for a bit." Envy obliged, following the shorter boy into the darkened shop.

Every mannequin was decorated with elaborate gowns that were splattered with bows, ruffles, lace or all three, colored with blacks and reds and pinks and blues that gave an overall eerie look about the store. There was no specified separation between the gothic, punk and lolita clothing; it all just seemed to be mixed together or sometimes even combined into one style. Envy immediately made his way into the depths of the clothing store, admiring the fancy dresses and funky outfits. Ed chuckled, knowing that deep down in the black-haired boy's heart, he really was similar to the girls he supposedly despised.

"I'm gonna go find Winry, okay?" He called, hearing a muffled reply of confirmation from his boyfriend. Edward then took a right turn through the store, searching the aisles for the blonde-haired girl. Suddenly, he spotted her near the back of the large store, examining a metallic-looking outfit on a mannequin.

"Hey, Win," Ed greeted, tapping the girl on the shoulder. She turned around, flushed and smiling brightly.

"Hey, Ed! Where's Envy?" Winry asked.

"Oh, he's off somewhere looking at clothes. He can be so much like a girl sometimes..." he chuckled. Edward then looked up at the mannequin and discovered it was almost like a suit of armor: the mannequin wore a sheer dark grey shirt with steel gauntlets, black pants with steel leg-warmers, steel-tipped boots, and a silvery paperboy cap. He gestured towards it to Winry. "Something you're interested in?" The blonde-haired girl blushed, looking down at her shoes.

"No, I wasn't looking at it for me..." she mumbled. "Ed, do you think Alphonse would like something like this?" Suddenly, a gigantic lightbulb popped up over Edward's head.

_Lucky you, Al,_ he thought devilishly. _Looks like you might have some mutual feelings going on...time for the older brother to play matchmaker~!_

He put on a big smile to Winry, and said, "I'm _sure_ he would like that." And it was true; as much as Al liked regular clothes, he did have a bit of a thing for metallic clothing. Winry grinned, hugged the blonde-haired boy, and responded, "Great! I'll go get a sales attendant to assemble the outfit for me to buy. Unless..." she smirked. "Would you like to get something for Envy first, 'O'Chibi-san'?" Ed blushed both the idea and the nickname Winry used for him.

"Don't call me that!" He said irritatedly. "But... yeah, maybe we could find something for him. He didn't buy anything for himself at the steampunk place." Winry nodded, taking him by the hand.

"Well, let's go! Do you think he would like something gothic?" Winry asked.

"I dunno, but we can try since he likes black stuff..." Ed answered.

Meanwhile, Envy was thoroughly enjoying himself as he imagined his little blonde boy decked out in every single outfit he saw. As he pulled out an identical dress to the one he was admiring in the store window, he sighed as wistfully as he could.

"How cute would he look in this?" he pondered, examining every little ruffle in the skirt. "There's gotta be a way I could make him be my dress-up doll for just one night..."

"And how do you suppose you'll do that, Envy?" A sultry voice asked behind him. The black-haired boy whipped around with the dress still in hand to find his sister, who was holding at least three spectacular black dresses. "That's quite a red dress you have there." She smirked.

"Oh, hey, Lust," Envy greeted, sighing with relief. "I was just wondering if I would find you here."

"Or were you?" Lust executed a devious smile. "I thought you were fantasizing about your boyfriend in that dress in your hand." The black-haired boy blushed.

"How did you know I'm dating Edward?" He whispered anxiously.

"I didn't, but now I do, judging from the reaction you had." Envy facepalmed at his own loose-lippedness.

"Fine; yes, I'm dating Edward. And I'm quite happy with that fact, too," he huffed. "You're not gonna tell anyone, right?"

"Have I _ever_ told anyone your true sexuality?" Lust retorted. "Not that it isn't obvious enough already..."

"Shut _up_," Envy commanded embarrassedly. "Either way, how do you expect to pay for all of those?" He waved a finger at Lust's copious dresses. In turn, the black-haired girl lifted up her equally black wallet while showing off her equally black nails.

"Dad just sent me my allowance money," she said simply. "Speaking of which... Envy. Are you going to come home for Christmas this year?" Envy's eyes turned to stone, his previously happy aura turning to a frozen one.

"You _know_ that I don't want to go back home. I _hate_ that fucking bastard of a father," he muttered.

"He's _not_ that bad, Envy," Lust responded curtly. "What is it about him that you hate so much?"

"He always acts like he's better than all of us; like we're some mentally disabled kids who need his 'guidance,'" Envy spat. "I hate being looked down on like that. It gets on my nerves and it frustrates me to no end. And I hate Wrath and his fucking son, too! They look down on us, just like father does. That moron Ling is no better. You _have_ to fucking agree he's an asshole. He even drove Greed away, and I don't see _anyone_ trying to get _him_ to come home! Then again, maybe I don't _want_ him to because _he's_ an asshole, too!" Lust stayed silent for a moment, taking in all of what her brother just said.

"I want you to come home, Envy. Gluttony does, too. And despite what you think, not everyone in your family is as hostile to you as you are to them." This thought silenced Envy, making him rethink his words.

"What about Mom, then? What ever happened to her? Didn't she hate me, too?" Lust looked at him, her eyes full of subtle pity that he couldn't detect. _Envy... _she thought. _If only I could tell you the truth about mother..._

"Whatever. I'm not coming home, and you can tell our bastard of a father that straight up." Envy frowned.

"Where do you suppose you'll stay? Ed's probably going home for Christmas as well," Lust pointed out. The spiky-haired boy considered this.

"... I dunno. I'll figure it out; I'll do anything to stay away from that flowing-robes moron." The black-haired girl sighed.

"Have you ever even tried talking to these people you supposedly hate?" She asked.

"Ling hates _me_, okay? I did _nothing_ to cause that."

"You set up a bucket trap on his bedroom door the first night he was there."

"And?"

"It was filled with ranch dressing and cayenne powder."

"W-Well..." Envy started, remembering that awful prank he performed out of anger. "Well, what about Wrath and his awful son? I've never done anything to them!"

"No, you haven't, but have you considered the fact that you just might seem hostile towards them?" Lust proposed. "I remember the first time you met Wrath was when he was bringing little baby Selim-"

"_Pride,_" he corrected, replacing Selim with his personal nickname.

"-_Selim_ over, you acted like they were devils," Lust finished.

"I was _six!_" Envy argued. "And... and dad had told me all that shit after mom died. How was I _supposed_ to act?"

"Well, from then on you created them to be some sort of condescending demons when _perhaps_ they were trying to make you **feel better**, Envy!" Lust yelled sharply, shocking her stubborn brother into silence. She took a breath, calming down, and continued, "I'm just trying to get you to see some reason. Stop acting like such a little kid."

"... fine. I'll think about it. But don't expect me to turn into a perfect little angel and come h-"

"Envyyyyy!" A voice called, with two pairs of footsteps rushing towards where the siblings were standing. Envy quickly shoved the dress that was still in his hands back onto the rack, and Lust turned around nonchalantly to see the owner of the voice. Ed and Winry appeared, both holding bags labeled with the store name.

"Oh, hey, Lust," Ed greeted, as Lust nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hello," she said. "Did you finish Hawkeye's homework yet?"

"Ugh, don't remind me..." Edward groaned comedically. He then turned towards his boyfriend, smiling brightly and subtly hiding the bag he was holding behind him. At the sight of his little blonde boy, Envy immediately pulled Ed into a warm hug.

"Hey, O'Chibi-san," the black-haired boy said, feeling his hardened heart melt at Edward's touch. "Did you have a bit of fun shopping?" The blonde blushed.

"Y-Yeah..." he mumbled, looking back at the two girls who were standing and staring at the two hugging boys. "Uh, so... how are you, Lust?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Envy's sister responded sultrily. "But it just so happens that I have to get going now. See you guys later." With that, the black-haired girl turned and walked away.

"So, it's about time for lunch, right?" Winry asked, as the three exited the shop to see a street bustling with people. At the same time, Envy grabbed Edward's hand and held it tight. He smiled down at him.

"Hold my hand for now, okay?" Envy whispered. Ed blushed, but didn't remove his hand.

"Yeah, it's about lunch," the blonde responded to Winry's question. "Let's find somewhere to eat, and then we'll head back to the campus. It's getting too busy, anyways..." the blonde-haired girl looked back at him and Envy, smiling warmly.

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, walking in a random direction with the two boyfriends trailing behind her.


	21. Chapter 20

***SQUEE!* I loved writing this fluffy chapter. I almost started crying from happiness and my heart turned to mush. Squee~! Either way, I'm glad to be back on publishing every day. It makes me happy ^_^ Either way, I hope you all will enjoy this über-fluff chapter! I present you... chapter twenty!**

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-Chapter Twenty-

Since they arrived back at their room, Envy had been pestering Edward to his wit's end about what clothing lied in the bag he got from the gothic shop.

"Come on, Ed!" Envy whined. "I wanna see! What's in the bag, what's in the bag, what's in the bag?" With each repeated phrase, the black-haired boy prodded the blonde in the ribs again and again. A vein popped up on Ed's temple.

"For the love of god, Envy, do you _ever_ shut up?" He asked irately.

"Not until I get what I want!" The taller boy exclaimed. "Come oooooon, Eeeeeeed! What's... in... the bag?" Envy began to grab at the bag that Ed still held in his hand, while the boy himself did all he could to keep it away from him.

"No! Not yet, it's a..." Ed stopped himself, refusing to disclose the contents. "It's..."

"It's lingerie, isn't it?" Envy suggested, creating a mockingly dark tone in his voice. "Or is it a Speedo? Do you have some sort of spandex fetish you didn't tell me about?"

"NO!" The blonde protested, falling backwards onto the floor with Envy on top of him.

"Please give it to me?" Envy asked sweetly, gently pawing at the package and giving Edward the cutest look he could muster.

"But...!" Ed tried to say, but then his boyfriend started to delicately stroke his chest. The faux prosthetic that he had hid under his jacket was now placed aside by Envy, for the black-haired boy wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.

Envy pushed himself over Edward, leaning forward and kissing the blonde on the lips. Ed wrapped his arms around the spiky-haired boy's waist, leaving the bag behind. Envy decided that he wouldn't grab for it now; he was enjoying himself too much to stop now. Edward moaned a bit as the taller boy massaged his shoulders, unraveling the knots that always lay buried in muscle.

"Your shoulders are so tense, O'Chibi-san," Envy mumbled, laying down next to Ed and resting his head on his chest. "Why don't you _ever_ relax, just a _little_ bit?"

"I do so relax," the blonde argued. "I just... I dunno." The black-haired boy's lips curled into a smile, as he nuzzled closer into Edward.

"I can hear your heartbeat," Envy commented. The shorter boy blushed, causing Envy to chuckle. "Oops, now it just got faster."

"Shut up..." Ed said half-heartedly. Despite the spiky-haired boy's remarks on him always being uptight, Edward was currently feeling more relaxed than he ever had before. Envy's gentle touch, the serene look on his beautiful face, the smell of his coconutty hair, and, not two moments after he said 'shut up,' the delicious taste of his lips.

"Mmm..." the blonde moaned as Envy ran his long fingers through his blonde hair, untying the braid and rubbing his head. Their warm kiss deepened, their hearts pounding at a synchronized beat, their very souls resonating and telling them, "This is what you've wanted your entire life." Edward held Envy tightly over him, bringing their kiss to an entirely new level of passion which should be left unspoken, lest both loverboys turn the darkest shade of red.

Suddenly, the black-haired boy lifted Ed into his arms wedding-style, raising a brand new reaction in the smaller boy.

"Aah! Envy, what are you doing?" He shouted embarrassedly, wriggling around while suspended in the air.

"Oi, oi, oi! Stop squirming, you little shrimp!" Envy said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"I'm NOT a SHRIMP!" Edward shouted even louder than before. The taller boy groaned, annoyed.

"Okay, so here I was trying to pull a romantic blush-inducing move on you, but _now_ you're all, 'Oh, I'm not short!'" Envy responded mockingly. "O', tragedy! Thou shallst ne'er lay his eyes upon my omnipotent plan of love! O', tragedy, o' sorrow, o', thy deepest resents shall lie in thee's memory of what once cou-"

"Alright, alright!" Ed interrupted, blushing and folding his hands behind Envy's neck. "I'm sorry, okay? Do what you want to, okay, Envy?" At that, the black-haired boy's irate face morphed into a calm and happy one.

"Good," he said, kissing the blonde lightly on the lips. "Be ready, my little boyfriend; you're going to want to giggle like a little schoolgirl~!" _Oh, crap._ Ed thought. _What have I gotten myself into now?_

On the other hand, Envy was thinking something along the lines of: _Finally! I've been wanting to do this for as long as I've lov-lik-been in lo-whatever! With that little blonde chibi. Now, I finally get to!_

Envy delicately pressed his lips onto Edward's forehead, still holding the boy up in the air. He walked over to his bed and sat down on it, placing the blonde in his lap. Envy held him close, wrapping his arms around his shoulders; in turn, Ed rested his head on the taller boy's shoulder and hugged him back. His heart pounding with excitement and nervousness, the black-haired boy turned his head and whispered into his beloved's ear:

"_O never say that I was false of heart,_

_Though absence seemed my flame to qualify._

_As easy might I from myself depart_

_As from my soul, which in thy breast doth lie._

_That is my home of love; if I have ranged,_

_Like him that travels I return again,_

_Just to the time, not with the time exchanged,_

_So that myself bring water for my stain._

_Never believe, though in my nature reigned_

_All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,_

_That it could so preposterously be stained_

_To leave for nothing all thy sum of good._

_For nothing this wide universe I call,_

_Save thou, my rose; in it thou art my all._"

"For nothing this wide universe I call, save thou, my rose; in it thou art my all..." Edward repeated, trembling with emotions that he never felt before. He turned to look at Envy straight in the eyes, clashing his golden ones with his opposite's amethyst ones.

"Do you know what that means, Edward?" Envy asked with a voice softer than down feathers, using the blonde's full name for an added sense of romance. Ed nodded.

"It means, 'The entire universe, except for you, my love, means nothing to me; you are my..." He stopped to hold back a ferocious blush, shutting his eyes and covering his cheeks with his hands; Envy still smiled, holding him tightly. The black-haired boy once again moved into Ed's ear, and whispered,

"You are my everything."

Soon after that, Envy kissed his wonderful blonde boy on the lips in the most romantic way possible, maxing out every scale Edward had established within himself.

"...Ed?" Envy called, waving his hand in front of Ed's face. "Ed...? Are you okay? Did I break you or something?" The shorter boy's mouth hung agape, his eyes clouded with emotion.

_Is he just shorted out?_ Envy thought, suppressing a snicker. _Hahaha, 'shorted out'..._ He awkwardly kissed the boy again, trying to bring him back into sensibility.

"Hello~? Earth to Edward, coming in...?" The black-haired boy continued his attempts. Within Ed's mind, fireworks, grenades and missiles were exploding at exponential rates; he was thinking so many thoughts at once that he simply couldn't think at all.

"Hydrogen, yttrium, carbon, oxygen, aluminum, tin, copper, magnesium, fluorine, iodine, xenon, sodium, titanium, francium, americium..." he muttered blankly, still retaining his empty gaze while Envy looked totally confused. "Helium, phosphorus, bromine, argon, silver, gold, potassium, chlorine, radium, radon, plutonium, calcium, einsteinium, sulfur, selenium, nitrogen..."

"Shit, I really _have_ shorted him out," the black-haired boy stated crushingly. "Shit shit shit. What the hell have I done?" He began to shake the rambling boy nervously. "Ed? ED? Stop rambling off those random elements!" A gigantic blush began to rise on Edward's cheeks as he continued his string of names.

"Uranium, lithium, cobalt, boron, arsenic, _silicon, tungsten, manganese, __**neon, krypton, scandium, lead, nickel...**_" he started to shout. "**MERCURY, THALLIUM, BISMUTH...!**"

"Edward Elric, quit freaking me out like this or else I'm going to push you onto the floor," Envy threatened, panicking and shaking Ed's shoulders. "Wake **up!**" In a burst of panic he hit the blonde across the face, breaking the blank stare into one of shock. Silently, Edward scrambled out of Envy's arms and stood on the floor in front of him. Of course, now the black-haired boy was panicking even more than before.

"Ed, no, I...!" He stuttered. "I didn't... mean, too... I mean...! No, are you okay?"

"...I'm okay, Envy," Edward said, finally forming coherent sentences. "I, um... kind of do that when I'm having a, um... overload of sorts." He blushed cutely, bringing on a new rise of happiness in Envy. The black-haired boy stood up and hugged the blonde tightly, elated to have him back in the realm of the sensible.

"Did you like my sonnet?" He asked sweetly, kissing Ed's cheek.

"I just shorted out from emotion overload, didn't I?" Edward responded, smirking. "Those are some strong words, you know." Envy smiled.

"If I didn't mean them, Ed, I never would have said them in the first place." The blonde blushed once more, burying his head into the taller boy's chest. Now, he could hear Envy's heartbeat as the latter heard his; he realized that as collected as Envy seemed on the outside, his heart was pounding with energetic warmth and- could he say it?- love.

"You're too damn cute for your own good..." Edward muttered, his voice just reaching the black-haired boy's ears.

"Is that so?" He asked vainly. "Am I cute enough to see what you bought?" The blonde flinched from the realization that he still had not revealed the bag's contents to Envy. He nodded silently, broke away, and picked up the bag that lay on the floor.

"Here," Ed said, handing the bag to Envy. "It's for you." He didn't mention Winry, for he thought this moment was just too perfect a romance scene. The taller boy smiled widely, and took the bag with great enthusiasm.

"A present, a present, Ed got me a present~!" He said in a sing-song voice as he brought out the clothing from its package; Edward held his breath, hoping Envy would like it.

"Whoaaaaaa..." he heard the black-haired boy say as his eyes set upon the gift. In his left hand was a black waist-length wool cape that connected below the collarbone with a single silver button, and above that rose a turtleneck collar; in his right hand, he held a matching black beret and wool fingerless gloves. Envy admired them with great ecstasy, feeling the warm fabric between his fingers and rubbing it against his cheek.

"Do you... like it?" Ed asked nervously. "I thought it would be nice, since the weather is getting colder and it's nice and woolly..." Envy issued a devious smile, leaned over, kissed him deeply, and put on the garment gracefully.

"I _love_ it..." he mumbled, executing the cutest smile in the universe. On an impulse, the blonde suddenly hugged him tightly and kissed him right on the lips.

_Edward... I may not know anything about loving people, and I haven't really loved anyone in my life before..._ Envy thought as he felt Ed's kiss. _But right now, and right then, I am feeling emotions I've never felt before. It's only been a short time, but... Edward Elric..._

_I think I'm starting to love you. _


	22. Chapter 21

**Phew! Long-ish chapter today ^_^ I'm absolutely squeeing over the number of reviews I have (which is currently 42, HHGTG fans :3 ). I love you, my amazing readers! At this point, now, I shall present chapter 21! Huzzah~!**

**By the way: if you haven't already, read "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It's the best. Doooo iiiiiit.**

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-Chapter Twenty-One-(Sunday)

"Oi, Envy," the blonde-haired boy called from across the room. Envy looked up from his book, giving Edward his full attention.

"What's up, O'Chibi-san?" He asked, noting the fact that Ed was holding the dorm phone in his hand.

"I'm gonna go meet up with Alphonse for lunch today; just thought I'd let you know," the blonde responded.

"And I don't have any say in this?" Envy questioned.

"None at all," Ed stated, with a small smirk on his face. He turned back into the receiver and said a few things to the caller; with a cheerful, "Alright, see you then," Edward placed the phone back into its cradle. The black-haired boy was lying on his bed, reading his book while it was held up above him; unfortunately for Ed, he looked quite annoyed for someone reading _Hamlet_.

"Who said you could make plans with your brother without asking me first?" Envy grumbled possessively.

"_I_ said, because-you're not going to believe this- I'm actually an independent human being," the blonde joked, sitting down in the chair that stood next to the desk. Envy smirked, but still was irritated by the fact he wasn't going to be with his lovely Edward all dayt.

"Is it because you're a strong, independent black woman who don't need no man?" The taller boy half-joked, his voice completely dull and his face deadpanned. The blonde walked over to his boyfriend, pushed his book aside, and kissed Envy right on the lips.

"It's just for one day, okay?" Ed whispered. "And now is a time better than ever to break it to Al that I'm gay." The black-haired boy blinked, as his mind reached a complete understanding of why Edward was meeting up with his brother.

"Can't I just kiss you in front of him and then we'll be done?" Envy proposed, with a hint of fake exasperation.

"_No!_ I want to _tell_ him, not _scar him for life_!" Ed responded irately, standing up again and bringing the taller boy up with him. "You're an independent person, too, you palm tree. Go find something else to do for today." He smiled, holding Envy's hand tightly. At his touch, Envy's heart couldn't help but soften into mush.

"Fine," he mumbled, using his long locks of hair to hide his blushing face. "You better make it up to me." Edward's lips curled into a devilish smile as an idea dawned upon him. He stretched up (on his toes, to his embarrassment) to Envy's ear, and whispered oh-so-sweetly into it:

"Of course I will, my gorgeous boyfriend." Upon hearing this, the black-haired boy's heart swell with emotion and vanity.

"Am I gorgeous?" Envy asked, holding Ed's hand out and grabbing him by the waist, similar to as if they were dancing. "Tell me again, O'Chibi-san~!" Edward blushed, squirming uncomfortably for a bit.

"Vain, much?" He mumbled cutely.

"More than you could _ever_ want to know, my little Edward," Envy responded in a sing-song voice. The blonde groaned comedically, releasing the taller boy's hand and picking up some clothes from his suitcase.

"I should probably get going soon, since it's already about 10:00," he said. "I'm going to that sushi place, and I'll have my phone on me if you desperately need me." Edward stopped as he felt his boyfriend smile deviously. "But that does _not_ give you the right to continuously call me when you're just bored." Envy issued a fake "aww" as the blonde headed over to the bathroom to get dressed.

"Contrary to popular belief, I _can_ go a day without you, O'Chibi-san," Envy said sarcastically. Ed chuckled as he closed the bathroom door behind him.

"I'm sure you can, Envy."

About a half hour later, Edward left the dorm with a warm goodbye, and Envy simply shuffled around the room, contemplating what he would do for himself for the day.

"I _could_ just go to the library..." he said to himself. "But I already _did_ all my homework, so what's the point? I could meet up with Lust... nah, she's probably still pissed at me after what happened yesterday. Hmmm... hm!" If it were possible, a lightbulb would have popped up over his head. "I guess I'll go to the park and read or something!" Envy looked out the single window, examining the weather conditions. "And it's a pretty nice day, too; I could grab lunch at that cafe Winry said she got those awesome cinnamon buns." Not 10 minutes later, Envy had dressed himself, grabbed his bag, and was heading out the door. He stopped at a mirror and studied himself vainly.

"Call me narcissistic," the black-haired boy began. "But I _am_ looking _gorgeous_ today." With a turn of the knob, he departed the dorm with a pleasant smile on his face.

Edward Elric awkwardly stood outside the sushi restaurant, waiting for his younger brother to arrive. He checked his cellphone for the time (which was exactly 10:42AM) and wondered if he had been a bit too eager to get there so early. _It's a shame, I could've spent a bit more time with Envy..._ he thought guiltily. _I wonder what he's up to now..._ Suddenly, a voice called him to attention that came from afar. Ed looked up, now completely alert, to see a mop of blonde hair quite like his moving towards him. He smiled, his heart pounding from nerves, and waved good-naturedly.

"Hey, Al!" He called, to hear a similarly happy response from his brother. Alphonse walked up to him, hugged him, and smiled widely.

"Hey, brother! How are you?" He asked.

"I'm good, I'm good," Ed responded, trying to steady his breathing. _Oh god, I hope this doesn't turn out like it did with Winry,_ he thought anxiously. _It's even __**harder**__ now that I have to tell my brother... oh god oh god oh god... Just breathe, Edward, it'll be fine..._ The two entered the restaurant and got seated with menus, as Alphonse started to make more small talk.

"How're your classes, Edward?" He asked.

"Oh, they're good. Kimblee is as batshit insane as ever," the older blonde responded, chuckling a bit.

"I hope I don't get him next year for chemistry..." Al stated nervously, laughing along with Ed. "Is he that bad?"

"Nah, he's just nuts," Edward reassured. "He loves explosions, but I'm warning you to never actually cause one. Rather than put it out, he'll utter a laugh that reeks of pyromania. One time Envy..." His heart thumped from saying his name. "One time Envy 'accidentally' left a chemical over the flame for too long and it started to pop and sizzle, and Kimblee just sat there giggling with glee. It's creepy..." At this point, Alphonse was listening intently and laughing heartily at the story.

"He sounds... interesting," Al remarked, closing his menu and placing it on the table. "I have Dr. Marcoh for biology; he always seems so quiet and nervous, like he's running from the law or something." Ed smirked, and leaned in close to his younger brother.

"Maybe... maybe he _is,_ Al..." he said eerily. "Perhaps... he experimented on _human beings_ and is being _hunted down_ for his _research.._."

"Agh! That's r-really creepy, brother!" The younger blonde exclaimed. "Now I won't be able to get that out of my mind!"

"Well, you never know..." Edward joked, as the waiter came up to their table and took their rather extensive food orders.

Meanwhile, Envy was having a fantastical time with himself at the park. He was occupying an entire bench as he delved into a copy of "Good Omens"; next to the works of Shakespeare, it was one of his most loved books of all time. He was particularly fond of it because of its literally devilish humor and of its co-writer, Neil Gaiman. Envy always had a thing for him; if he'd ever been to a live reading by Gaiman he most likely would have confessed his undying love. When Lust once questioned his passion for the author, he defensively responded, "Have you not _ever __**seen**_ him? He's so _gorgeous_." To which Lust whispered that he was being such a fangirl.

Either way, Envy was pleasantly enjoying himself on that lovely Sunday morning.

Of course, that was until he heard a flock of girls start giggling somewhere nearby. He chose to ignore it, not glancing up from his book, but as the sound of females grew louder Envy grew more and more irritated. The black-haired boy looked up to see a group of girls he recognized from the school sitting at a picnic table, eating lunch and staring straight at him.

_Ladies, I realize that I'm attractive, but there's no reason for you to stare and giggle at me,_ Envy thought narcissistically. _You don't have a chance at me, anyways. My heart belongs with Gaima- I mean, Ed._ He glanced at them blankly, causing the girls to blush and turn their heads away to resume their happy idle chatter. A vein popped on Envy's forehead out of irritation.

_Are they laughing at me?_ He thought vainly. Not feeling very argumentative at the moment, Envy voted to return to his book and act as if the girls weren't there.

But, of course, he couldn't help but notice that the girls just kept staring at him. Out of irateness, he slammed his book closed, crossed his arms, and pretended to fall asleep.

_If they think you're asleep, they'll just leave you alone,_ Envy reasoned to himself. However, that was the exact opposite of what actually happened.

"Um... hi, Envy," came a soft voice that originated somewhere next to the black-haired boy. He opened one eye to see Catherine Elle Armstrong; a senior at their school who had a baby-ish face but really was quite strong.

"Hey," he responded neutrally, closing his eye again. He heard the other girls with her laugh back at the picnic table. _Ugh, girls... they must have dared her to come over here or something._ "Can I help you?" Envy asked with poison dripping off his tongue.

"Um..." the fair-haired girl began. "My friends and I were thinking... would you like to join us at our table?" On the inside, Envy uttered the most irritated of groans. Instead of voicing such a groan, he simply smiled and said, "No, thanks. I'm fine as I am." Catherine nodded, blushing a bit, and walked back to the table. The black-haired boy noticed that the other girls (he counted three, not including Catherine) were laughing but still somewhat disappointed.

_Man, sometimes I __**wish**__ I could tell everyone I'm gay,_ Envy thought, opening his book again. _Maybe then girls would stop being so irritating and will leave me alone._ He continued on with reading his book, laughing from time to time, and tried to ignore the presence of the females who would cause him a bit of trouble for the next hour or two.

"I love the miso soup here," Alphonse remarked as he wrapped his hands around the little warm bowl. "Don't you, brother?" The older blonde nodded silently, for his mouth was already full with the delicious soup.

"Mmhmm, definitely," he agreed after he had swallowed. "Could do with a bit of meat, though." Al chuckled, taking another sip and closing his eyes.

"Oh yeah! Guess what, Ed?" The younger boy exclaimed, setting down his bowl and suddenly looking excited.

"What's up?" Ed asked, drinking from his Coke that their waiter just set down.

"Winry got me one of the coolest things from the shopping district!" Alphonse said, smiling. "It's kind of like a suit of armor! It has metal leg warmers and gauntlets, and it has a silvery hat, and a cool grey shirt and black pants. Despite the metal, it's actually really comfortable!" He looked over at his older brother, who was unknowingly smiling warmly as he remembered the shopping experience. "Why are you smiling like that, brother?" Suddenly realizing what he was doing, Edward snapped back to reality and the smile disappeared.

"Uh, no, I..." Ed stammered, blushing. "I mean, that's really good, Al." The younger blonde grinned.

"Winry also said that you and Envy went with her. That was something I didn't expect," he remarked, directing a happy yet suspicious look at his brother. "I never knew you liked shopping."

"I, uh..." Edward stammered again, fidgeting around in his seat. "Well, Alphonse, there's something I have to tell you..."

"Look, you look like a total loser just sitting by yourself and reading a book," a girl called Martel badgered Envy, nudging his book away from him. "Come sit with us, you'll have a bit more fun."

_If you're trying to look like a tough and assertive girl who would actually get my romantic attention, you're certainly failing miserably,_ Envy thought viciously, growing angrier and angrier by the second.

"Didn't I tell you already? I'm fine as I am, thank you," he said stoically, attempting to get Martel and the other three girls behind her to piss off. A girl named Rose popped up behind the short-haired blonde.

"What book are you reading, Envy?" She asked kindly, kneeling down next to the bench and trying to look at the cover of his book.

"It's called 'Good Omens'. It's by Pratchett and Gaiman." Envy responded, not looking at the red-and-black-haired girl.

"What's it about?"

"It's a dark comedy about the Final Judgment of humankind."

"It sounds interesting!" Rose said brightly, her interests peaking from what she thought was a religious read.

"The main characters are a demon, a corrupted angel, witch-finders, and the Antichrist." As Envy predicted would come from his short explanation, the smile on Rose's face faded away. She stood up and stepped back behind Martel. In turn, Envy continued to read his book and do all he could to get the females to leave him alone.

"Come on, get that stick out of your ass," Martel said, slightly pulling on Envy's arm. He snapped it back, not saying a word. He heard the four whispering, and a few seconds later, a second tug came that thrashed him to the ground.

"What the _hell_?" He yelled, standing up and rubbing the lump forming on his head. The four girls were giggling, with Catherine looking quite embarrassed.

"I'm sorry!" She squeaked, covering her blushing face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you or anything!" At this point, Envy was so incredibly close to exploding that it took all his willpower not to smack her in the face. Instead, he smiled and answered simply, "It's alright, don't worry about it." Of course, this was an even bigger mistake, for it only motivated the girls to bother him even more. Envy took note that the fourth girl, who he knew as Lan Fan, had been completely silent throughout this entire exchange.

_Either she's just playing quiet to look cool, or she was just dragged along unwillingly into this,_ Envy thought. _Probably the second, since it's kind of obvious she has a thing for that bastard Ling. What does she see in him, anyways? _He glared back around at the sources of his annoyance. _How do I get rid of them...?_

Suddenly, a lightbulb went up over the black-haired boy's head.

"Sorry, one sec; I have to make a quick phone call..."


	23. Chapter 22

**Hello, humans! I don't have much to say today, but luckily my schoolwork is calming down... for now, at least. Thank you for reading! ^_^ I present you with chapter 22~!**

* * *

-Chapter Twenty-Two-

"Well, Alphonse, there's something I have to tell you..." Edward began, his cheeks bright red and his legs shaking. Ed and Al were at the sushi restaurant, and their leisurely conversation has finally led up to the older blonde's coming-out.

"I... am..." At that moment, two things happened simultaneously: the waiter brought out their two huge plates of delicious sushi and teriyaki, and Edward's cellphone started ringing very loudly from his pocket. Alphonse looked at him questioningly, as Ed blushed and got up from the table.

"I'm sorry; you can start eating without me, I'll be back in a minute," he said, awkwardly walking towards the bathrooms while Al looked at him weirdly. "I'll be right back, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, brother. Don't worry about it," the younger blonde responded good-naturedly, taking his chopsticks and digging into his food. Ed nodded, then took his phone out as he walked to the restaurant lavatories.

[Call from: ENVY A.]

"Hel-" Edward began.

"Hi, my wonderful sweetheart!" Envy exclaimed happily on the other end. "How are you doing, my gorgeous love?" The blonde's heart almost stopped at the romantic nicknames.

"I'm good, what ar-"

"I'm at the park right now, baby. You wanna come meet me?" The black-haired boy interrupted, still retaining outrageously fake enthusiasm. However, with Ed being Ed, he was oblivious to that fact.

"Well, I'm at the sushi place with Al right n-"

"Awwww~! You're just _so_ sweet, my fantastic and gorgeous girl," Envy continued, his voice softening. A vein popped on Edward's forehead from being called a girl.

"I'm _not_ a **girl**, En-"

"I love you, baby. I'll see you later, okay?" The boy on the other end said, his voice trembling a bit; as good of an actor he was, saying "I love you" was something he had almost never done before. Ed was silent, shocked from the words he just heard from his boyfriend. His heart was pounding faster than the speed of light, and his vocal chords constricted so that the only thing he could say was,

"Okay. Bye." He heard the line shut off, and lowered the phone from his ear.

_What... what was that all about?_ Edward thought, his legs feeling like jelly. _Envy doesn't __**ever**__ act as obnoxious and cheesy as that. Could he be in trouble?_ He shook the idea out of his head. _Nah, he probably just needed to get someone to piss off._ As he walked back towards his and Alphonse's table, he couldn't help but smile and feel his heart warm up.

_Envy said that he loved me._

Envy clicked his phone off with a very smug look on his face. The four girls next to him were completely stunned by his actions, dumbfounded and incredibly confused.

"So, what were you girls saying?" He asked, putting on a fake smile. Martel awkwardly coughed a bit before she spoke.

"Erm... who is she?" The short-haired girl asked, glaring inquisitively at Envy.

"Who's who?" Envy asked, playing ignorant.

"That girl you were just on the phone with."

"I wasn't on the phone." Now it was time for Envy to be a complete jackass; one of his favorite roles to play. Oh, how he loved provoking and annoying people, especially people who had been once romantically involved with his older brother, Greed.

"You literally _just_ got off the phone three seconds ago," Martel said exasperatedly.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!"

"I most certainly did _not_!"

"Yeah, you did!"

"Did not!"

"For the love of FUCKING god!" Martel yelled angrily, clutching her head. Rose came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Now, now, don't use the Lord's name in vain, Martel," she said calmly.

"Oh, shut it, you fucking nun..." Envy mumbled, loud enough for only the short-haired girl to hear.

"Don't call her that, you bastard!" She growled.

"Call who that?" The black-haired boy asked, maintaining a totally ignorant persona.

"_Rose!_"

"What about her?"

"DON'T CALL HER THAT!"

"Call her _what?_"

"AAARGHH!" Martel, not wanting any more of Envy's nonsense, stomped past the three girls behind her and angrily sat back down at the picnic table. The spiky-haired boy subtly smirked, knowing that if Martel was gone, the others will soon be gone as well.

_I got revenge for you, bro,_ he thought, remembering when Greed was still in school and went through a horrid break-up with the now incredibly angry girl. _Next time I see you, I'll make sure to tell you after I punch your face in._

Back at the restaurant, Edward reseated himself and started to eat away at his sushi. Alphonse was already halfway through his meal, but paused as he looked at his older brother.

"Who called?" He asked, causing the older blonde to drop a piece of fish into a soy sauce bowl.

"Uh... Envy. He had to ask me about a, uh... a homework assignment." Al grinned, not believing Ed's obvious lie for one second.

"For what class?"

"Ummm..." Ed started to blush, trying to elaborate on his lie. "History."

"What's the assig-"

"ALPHONSE, I'M GAY AND ENVY'S MY BOYFRIEND!" At that loud exclamation, Edward dramatically collapsed onto the floor and hid under the table, attracting quite a few strange looks. The younger blonde stared blankly ahead, totally caught off guard to the point where he dropped his sushi into his own soy sauce bowl.

"... Brother?" Alphonse asked quietly, peering under the table. "Brother, are you alright?" Edward was clutching a table leg from embarrassment, not looking at his younger brother out of fear of his response.

"I think your brother may be dead, Al," he squeaked, hoping his bright red face couldn't be seen in the dark from the table's shadow. The younger blonde smiled softly, and gently nudged his older brother's shoulder.

"Ed, you don't need to worry. You should know that there's nothing you could ever possibly do that could stop me from looking at you as my brother, someone who has always been there for me no matter what," Alphonse said sweetly. "That'll never change. Heck, I don't care what you are or who you love; as long as they make you happy." The older blonde turned his head, still blushing but staring happily at his younger brother.

"R-Really?" He asked, his heart swelling with joy.

"Yeah," Al responded, still smiling. "Now get out of there. You've attracted quite a bit of attention." Edward nodded, clumsily getting out from under the table and plopping back down in his seat. At this point, his blonde braid had been almost shaken out of its hair tie from all his fussing. "So why don't you tell me about Envy?" His younger brother proposed, causing Ed to blush deeply.

"Don't you already know him?" He murmured.

"Most likely not as much as you do, brother," Alphonse reminded playfully, continuing to eat his sushi. "How did it all begin?"

Not long after, Envy found that his ears were ringing louder than he had ever heard before.

Of course, this could be attributed to the increasingly loud and annoying speech of Martel, Rose, Lan Fan and Catherine. The four had long since given up their gentle approach of asking him to join them at their table; at the moment, Rose was passionately talking about a sermon she attended last night, Martel was trash-talking a couple of people she knew, Catherine was attempting to talk to the black-haired boy, and Lan Fan just sat quietly, looking as if she'd much rather be somewhere else. In short, they were simply annoying him to the ends of the Earth.

_Okay, so I know girls can be irritating,_ Envy thought, trying to focus all of his attention into his book. _And I know that I'm not a very big fan of hanging around girls. And I know sometimes that girls can be cool. Sometimes._ He glanced around irritatedly at the four girls. _And I know that sometimes I should be a bit nicer to them. But for the love of fucking god, what the __**hell**__ have I __**ever done**__ to deserve __THIS?_

"Hey, Catherine?" Envy asked, bringing the fair-haired girl's attention to him.

"Yes?" She responded meekly.

"Is there a specific reason why you all are here?" He asked point-blankedly. "You know, why you're bothering me?" The black-haired boy was much too fed up by their behavior to smother his hostile comments. However, Catherine only giggled a bit.

"Well, it's not because we're interested in dating you, Envy," she said bluntly. "I prefer strong men like my older brother."

With those two statements, Envy's ego took a very painful bruising; it would have been less painful if the girl had physically punched him. Despite being absolutely enraged by the girls' pestering, the spiky-haired boy took a bit of pride in being an object of romantic affection. It wasn't that he was not fulfilled by being with Edward, but he simply found himself liking the attention and liking the fact that people were interested in him.

However, with those very two spoken statements, Envy was not only disillusioned, but he was insulted that the fair-haired girl had dared to call him weak. Yes, Envy's balloon of an ego had been deflated to the size of a pea.

"And contrary to what you may believe, it's not uncommon knowledge in school that you aren't attracted to girls," Catherine murmured, sending Envy into a state of utter and insane panic.

"WHAT?" He screamed, startling the four girls into silence. Lowering his voice out of self-consciousness, he continued, "**What?** _**What? **_You have to be shitting with me. You have to be shitting. You. Have. To. Be." Envy grabbed Catherine's shoulders as sweat began to bead up on his skin. He mumbled something else, but the girls couldn't hear very well.

"Huh?" Martel grunted.

"What did you say?" Rose questioned.

"I _said..._ how... did... you... know...?" Envy ground out, clenching his teeth out of stress and anger. Seeing this, Catherine immediately knew that this was a very bad idea. She desperately looked at her friends, her eyes telling them exactly what went on. Martel and Lan Fan approached Envy cautiously.

"Uh, so how do I say this..." Martel began. "Uh. When I was still... y'know, with your brother..." The black-haired boy shot poison at her through his violet-colored eyes.

"Uh-_huh?_" He asked.

"Well, uh... he kinda said some _stuff_... about _you..._"

"Uh-_huuuuuuuh?_" He asked again, dragging out his speech from anger.

"And, uh... he kinda _mentioned_..." Martel sweated. "That you told him you... uh... weren't, into... uh..." She tugged at her shirt collar nervously, coughed, and discreetly murmured, "...you were... gay?"

"And... Ling happened to mention a couple of things, too..." Lan Fan added quietly, as if to pour gasoline on Envy's inner flame. "I... I didn't say anything to anyone, but I don't know about Li-"

At that very moment, Envy shot up from the park bench, shoved his way through the group of girls, and sprinted as fast as he could from that horrible scene. Tears began to well up in his eyes from the wind, but he rubbed them away, dashing as far as he could before he tired out. The spiky-haired boy ended up at the front of the park, where he fell down to the ground and leaned up against the fence. Envy quietly took out his phone, trying not to think about what he just heard, and discovered that Edward had sent him a text and he hadn't noticed.

[Text from: O'CHIBI-SAN]

hey envy

im out of the restaurant nd evrything went well with al. hes cool about it nd all. u wanna meet up at the library?

ill be waiting 4 u outside

ed

Envy sat there, sulking, his mind taking a while to register what he had just read.

"Library..." he said softly, thinking of how much he adored his little blonde boy. "I might as well go. I... need to talk to Ed anyways." The black-haired boy stood, pocketing his phone and holding his book under his arm, and slowly made his way back to the school grounds.


	24. Chapter 23

**Today, I had a pretty bad day. I had boatloads of work and my teachers were breathing down my back and I had a throbbing headache. I had to work for a long, long time before I even got to the computer. Nonetheless, when I checked my email and saw the new reviews I got... I couldn't help but smile. You all have made my day once again X3 I love you all! So, without further ado, please do enjoy chapter 23! **

* * *

-Chapter Twenty-Three-

Edward leaned against the outside of the library building, keeping his eyes out for his boyfriend. He continuously checked his phone to see if Envy had texted him back, but to no avail. The blonde considered sending another texting or calling Envy, but he came to the awkward decision to simply wait. Ed thought back a bit to his conversation with Alphonse after he had come out to him; the younger blonde began to talk about Winry again, blushing and smiling as if the girl were already his girlfriend. Despite the instinctive older sibling stomach twinge, Edward was actually joyful that his younger brother could find someone of his own to have fun with and adore and be happy with. Of course, Alphonse promised that he wouldn't "abandon" his older brother in any way; to this, the older blonde playfully tapped him on the head and said, "Hey! I'm not some kind of lonely lifeless kid!"

Either way, Edward Elric felt incredibly relieved that all was well and accounted for.

Of course, it would have been if Envy hadn't arrived in a huge and panicked tizzy.

"ED! EDWARD ELRIC!" The black-haired boy gasped, completely out of breath. Apparently, since he started to walk towards the campus, Envy's brain processed exactly what the four girls had revealed to him and thus caused him to go into another full-out sprint in an attempt to wash away the memories.

"ED...! I... Martel... Cather...ine... Lan Fan...!" He continued to gasp, leaning on the blonde in the most tired way.

"Envy! Envy, s-slow down!" Edward exclaimed, holding the taller boy up with a hug. "What happened? Why are you breathing so hard?" He sighed worriedly, suddenly remembering their phone call that seemed like ages ago. "How about we go inside, okay...?" Envy nodded exhaustedly, as the blonde-haired boy moved with him into the library.

Upon arriving at their usual spot, Envy collapsed into the biggest and comfiest chair there. He curled up a bit, dropping his book to the floor and nestling his head into the arm of the seat. Ed pulled up an adjacent chair and sat down as well, glancing anxiously at his black-haired boyfriend.

"I... I'm okay," Envy sighed, straightening up a bit. "I sprinted... all the way here... because... rrrrghhh..." He growled, covering his face with his arms.

"Envy..." Ed said with a voice sweeter than honey. "What's wrong?" The blonde saw the taller boy make a gesture that told him to sit in his lap; he immediately complied, feeling Envy's arms wrap around him protectively.

"I was at the park, reading..." he began, bringing Edward's head to lean on his shoulder. "And, Martel, Catherine, Rose, and Lan Fan were there..."

"I don't really know who those people are, save for Rose," Ed pointed out, shudderingly remembering how Rose "overheard" a conversation he had with Al about evolution and proceeded to preach about creationism and God and everything that he had absolutely rejected for as long as he lived. It was an incredibly painful experience. "But either way, go on."

"For a while, I was good. But then the girls started to pester the _shit_ out of me..." Envy said bluntly, recalling his utter irritation. "Like, _really_ pestering the shit out of me. That's when I called you," he stopped, as Edward blushed from remembering the phone call. "I'm... I'm really sorry about that. I had no idea what to d-"

"It's okay, Envy," the blonde cut off, hugging the black-haired boy. "It was... kinda nice." The taller boy blushed a bit. _One day, I'll say it and mean it for real, my little blonde chibi. I promise, _he thought, holding the boy a bit tighter.

"Okay," was all he said before continuing. "But, yeah. They were all irritating me, and I argued with them for a bit, but then... I asked them why they were bugging me." Ed nodded for him to go on. "And... this girl Catherine said... that _everyone in the school_... knows... I'm into guys." Envy clenched the shorter boy tightly, feeling his heart pound with stress and anxiety. "And that my fucking brother Greed told Martel, his ex, and that **goddamn LING** probably told everyb-body!" The black-haired boy felt his lip tremble with emotion, his skin bead up with sweat, and his vision become blurry from tears that he never wanted to see again. Not knowing what else to do, Edward sat in his arms, rubbing his back and quietly saying, "shhhh," like he was calming his little brother down.

"Envy..." he cooed, smiling softly up at the boy. "I... I'm not saying that what your brothers did was right. And I'm not gonna say that everything is always gonna be okay, because I don't know that. But what I do know is that no one has said anything or harassed you in any way about it. Didn't you say before that you would _make_ people tolerate us?" Envy looked at him, puzzled, but soon remembered the time his little blonde boy was referring to and smiled.

"I did, didn't I?" He said, loosening his vice-like grip on Ed.

"You did," Ed confirmed. "And no one has said anything, at least without you asking. And either way, who cares what people know? Aren't we happy as we are?" The black-haired boy nodded, gently kissing the blonde on the cheek.

But suddenly, a frightening thought hit him like a ton of bricks.

"...Ed," he said in shock. "There _is_ a problem with what people know." He looked down at the blonde with renewed panic in his eyes.

"...What, Envy?" Edward asked, feeling a similar doomsday feeling.

"If Ling knows I'm gay... he could tell the administrators and get both of us separated..." Envy said anxiously, clutching to the blonde even tighter than before. "Ed, this isn't g-" As if to stop the negative words from coming, Ed pressed his lips to Envy's and kept them there, folding his hands behind his neck and nestling closer to the black-haired boy; Envy returned the favor ten-fold, holding Edward's waist and supporting his back to keep the kiss from breaking. Once again, the blonde could feel the taller boy's heart beat in sync with his own, as if there was a metronome keeping them in time. Just as suddenly as he had engaged the kiss, Ed broke it off and stared straight into those violet-colored eyes.

"Envy, Ling doesn't know that we're dating. And even if he does, even if he seems like he would do that... he wouldn't. Even if he hates you... to me, he doesn't seem like the person who would bring others into his own fights." Out of shame and realization that the blonde was kind of right, Envy made an attempt to hide his face behind his black locks of hair; Ed brushed it aside again.

"Envy, you're my boyfriend. No matter what happens, that's not gonna change," he continued, his voice firm and confident. "I may be sorta shitty when it comes to being romantic, but I know that I am damn good at reasoning with people. Don't worry about it, ok-" Interrupting his speech, Envy leaned in to steal another kiss from his beloved blonde. He felt his face warm up, but he didn't care; everything about Edward maxed out all his scales and made him feel like everything really was going to be okay. But yet, the black-haired boy wasn't truly ready to say those three eternal words that seemed so foreign yet so precious to him, those words that he said that day just as words and nothing more; one day (sooner than he expects), Envy will say these words in full passion and full truth, and Edward will most certainly feel the exact same way.

"Alright. No worries here," Envy said brightly, grinning at the blushing blonde in his lap. "I promise."

"Good," Ed responded, grinning back. "Because the last thing I need is another stress source." The black-haired boy gasped in the most fake tone possible.

"What? I, a stress source? Never in this lifetime, nor any other, O'Chibi-san!" He exclaimed. "Hast thou art gone mad? Hast thou art in ill being? Thou must be so, for thou shalt ne'er say such dreadful phrases about thy boyfriend when in good health!"

"I'm _kidding,_ I'm kidding!" Edward laughed, nudging Envy in the ribs. "Shouldn't a Shakespeare enthusiast such as yourself get sarcasm?" The taller boy laughed as well.

"You're so adorable, Ed," he mumbled, nuzzling his head into the blonde's shoulder.

"And... and you're so... gorgeous..." Ed murmured, once again dazzled by the boy's beauty. "You're... you're..." He turned a dark shade of red as he fidgeted around nervously. Envy looked up devilishly, craving more compliments.

"Yes, my O'Chibi-san?" He asked sweetly.

"You're... hotter than a bunsen burner flame set to full power... _meep_..." he mumbled, squirming around from embarrassment of his speech. A huge comedic smile crossed Envy's face that soon erupted into a full-fledged laughing attack.

"Ed...! Edwa-Ed...! Oh my god, Ed!" Envy laughed loudly, hugging the blonde warmly. "Oh my god, Ed, where did you _get_ that insane line? Ahahahahahahaha! Oh my god, I can't breathe! Can't breathe! Hahahahahahahahahaaaa!" Edward sat there stoically, blushing and hiding his face from the practically giggling black-haired boy.

"Meh..." was all he could squeak out, so he simply waited until Envy was done with his laughing fit.

"Ed, you're the best," the taller boy said, hugging the blonde gently. "You _always_ make my day." Ed smirked.

"_Always?_" He asked. Envy nodded.

"Always."


	25. Chapter 24

**I'm so sorry! I've had a very long and heart-wrenchingly busy day; I've only gotten on the internet literally just 5 minutes ago. But, I'm glad I still have a chapter to post up today! ^_^ Please enjoy and send happiness my way, my lovely humans~!**

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-Chapter Twenty-Four- (Friday, December 20th)

For the next 3 months, Edward and Envy shared the happiest of memories together as boyfriend and boyfriend, kissing and hugging and laughing and loving. All of their worries were gone, what with Ed's confessions to Winry and Al and Envy's consolations. The two were happier and closer than ever, still a bit wary of their behavior in school but certainly passionate for each other more than they had ever felt before. If one were to see the two together, holding hands and chuckling warmly at something they were talking about, that onlooker would feel their own heart brighten with happiness for the two completely in love boys.

Of course, the fact that he was in love gave Envy a force to reckon with. The black-haired boy oh-so wanted to confess his undying love for the blonde in front of the entire school, but once again the little conscious reason in his mind told him that would be quite romantic yet incredibly mortifying. But unfortunately, as he thought of how and when and where to proclaim his love, his mind only drew a blank.

_Dammit, why isn't this easier?_ Was the response he always thought when the creative block dropped on his brain.

"Earth to Envy, buzzing in," Ed called playfully, snapping his fingers in front of the black-haired boy's face to get his attention. Envy shook himself out of his deep thoughts, realizing that he was walking to the cafeteria for lunch with his little blonde boyfriend.

"Envy to Earth, I am long gone," he joked. "I'm headed for the Sun. Oh, wait!" The taller boy bent down a bit to whisper into Edward's ear. "He's already here." The blonde blushed, flattered by Envy's endless compliments.

"You know, for someone who's as vain as you, you sure do hand out a lot of compliments," he remarked, very subtly touching Envy's hand for a moment. The taller boy smirked.

"_Me?_ _Vain?_ What planet do you live on, Ed? Because it's definitely not Earth," he said sarcastically. "And I don't give out a lot of compliments; I only state facts from what I see." Ed snorted.

"Facts, huh?" He asked. "You must have a very distorted view of reality. Should I be checking your pockets for LSD?" The black-haired boy laughed a bit too loudly.

"O, Edward," he cooed. "Thou must hath this in thy knowledge, a man shallth not conceal his fruits of illusion within his pockets; a more meet place to look shallth be within his bedroom, somewhere hidden..." Envy smiled devilishly, sending a chill down Edward's spine.

"I would rather not know about any illegal substances you're taking, Envy; ignorance is bliss," he chuckled, sending a flirtatious smile up to the taller boy; in turn, Envy blushed a bit.

"You're too cute for your own good," he mumbled, as the two reached the school cafeteria.

Upon sitting down with his usual crew, Ed noticed that Gluttony was absent; after talking to Alphonse for a bit, he discovered the boy had taken a day off to get packed up for the train. _Why can't me and Envy get away with something like that?_ Edward thought deviously.

"So, we're all heading back home together for Christmas, right?" Al asked brightly, turning to Winry and Ed. They both nodded, and began discussing their plans among themselves.

"Yep," Winry confirmed. "When does the train leave, again?"

"9:00AM," Alphonse answered brightly. "On Sunday. So tomorrow is basically a packing-up day and maybe... last-minute Christmas present shopping." He glanced over at his brother and Envy, as both of them realized how close the winter holiday was and how they had not even gotten one present for their opposites.

_Oh, crap,_ the two thought simultaneously.

"But either way... what are you doing for Christmas, Envy?" The younger blonde asked good-naturedly, bringing the black-haired boy into the conversation, as always.

"Uh... I dunno," he muttered. "I was just gonna spend it here, I guess..." Edward looked at him worriedly; the blonde didn't wish for his wonderful black-haired boyfriend to spend all of break by himself.

"Well, if you don't have plans, why don't you come and stay with us?" Al asked suddenly, getting a hint from his brother's expressions that he _so_ wanted to be with his boyfriend all vacation long. "I'm sure our dad won't mind; we've got a spare bed for you to use." At this point, Envy was incredibly ecstatic at the idea of spending a week with his little chibi, along with the idea of finally meeting the boy's mysterious father.

_I wouldn't need to use that bed,_ he thought deviously. _I can share with Ed~!_

"Yeah! I mean, sure," Envy responded quickly, scarcely hiding the wide grin on his face. He turned to look at the older blonde, who had an identical smile on his face.

"That sounds... really great," Edward said softly, bringing a smothered squee feeling inside of Envy. Winry, already imagining in her mind how everything would play out, chuckled at the two's happiness.

"You can have dinner with us, too," she added. "Christmas dinner usually is at my place, with my grandma Pinako. And we could all celebrate on New Year's Eve together, too!"

Suddenly, at the mention of the last day of the year, a perfect plan hatched in Envy's mind: his plan to tell Edward he loved him. His heart already started to explode with joy and love as he planned it all out.

_Just think about it,_ the black-haired boy inwardly said, excited. _Me, the super romantic and fabtastical Envy, standing outside with that little chibi on the last day of the year, and as the clock strikes 12:00 midnight, I whisper, 'Edward... I love you.' It's like a fucking fantasy! Envy, you are a __**genius**__~!_ He hummed to himself happily, as the other people at his table continued their conversation.

"So... I guess I'll call Hohenh- dad tonight and ask him if Envy could come with us," Edward mentioned, receiving reassuring nods from Alphonse and Winry.

"I'm sure he'll say yes," Winry commented with a confident smile. "After all you guys have been through? He _has_ to let you have _some_ _**fun**_." She raised her eyebrows suggestively at the older blonde, causing him to blush and slam his hands down on the table out of embarrassment.

"**It's not like that, Winry...**" he ground out, gritting his teeth and covering his face. The blonde-haired girl giggled.

"_Sure_, it's not."

As the bell rang, everyone at the table got up to leave. However, in a small spark of inspiration, Envy impulsively asked Winry to stay behind for a moment; Edward didn't notice a thing.

"What's up, Envy?" Winry asked curiously, meeting eye-to-eye with the black-haired boy.

"Erm..." Envy began. "Is it possible that... I dunno... you could help me out with something?" He blushed a bit, feeling more awkward by the second.

"With Ed?" Winry asked again. "You need some help getting him a gift, don't you?" She smirked, but still retained a sweet kindness towards her sort-of brother's boyfriend.

"Uh... yeah. I know a basic idea of what he likes, but I have no idea where to, umm..." Envy confirmed, looking away nervously. The blonde-haired girl grinned.

"Don't worry about it. How about we go tomorrow, before we leave Sunday?" She suggested warmly, bringing a wave of happiness and relief over the taller boy. However, still being a bit on the defensive side when dealing with Winry, Envy resisted the impulse to express it.

"That sounds alright," he said calmly, looking cooler than ever.

"I'll meet you by the northern gates. Don't let Ed in on it." Envy nodded, smirking.

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a total moron," the black-haired boy responded sarcastically. As she walked away, Winry looked back at him sweetly.

"I know. Ed wouldn't ever date someone who he thought was less intelligent than him."

Near the end of the day, Edward was poring over his worries about getting Envy a gift. A bunch of gifts. He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about what to do.

_What to get, what to get... come to think of it, I don't know much about what Envy fancies, other than the obvious... _he thought. _Who would be the ideal person to help me? Not Winry, she doesn't know Envy that well, either..._

Suddenly, a bone-crushing thought appeared in his mind.

_I have to go with Lust._

After creative writing, the blonde-haired boy tracked down Lan Fan, who was in his class, and awkwardly asked her if she knew where Lust would be at this time of day.

"Lust...?" Lan Fan inquired quietly. "Why do you need to see her?"

"Uh... a homework assignment," Ed lied. "Where would she be?"

"Hn... I think her last class is orchestra in the concert hall. It's right next to this building, so you should get going," the black-haired girl responded.

"Great. Thanks a bunch," the blonde responded, turning away to find Lust. Suddenly, Lan Fan remembered something that she was supposed to tell him.

"Wait!" She called, alerting Edward back to her.

"What's up?"

"Umm..." she muttered. "Can you tell Envy something for me? It's a... message of sorts, from Ling." Ed took note that she was blushing a bit, implying she had a thing for the squinty-eyed boy.

"And that would be...?" He questioned, wary of the nature of the message.

"Ling said... 'I'm not going to tell dad about anything, but I can't guarantee your safety from his anger once he finds out you're not coming home for vacation.' That's what he said to me to pass on this morning." Edward nodded confidently, his heart feeling both warm and cold from the contents of the message. He turned away once again, and said, "Will do. See you later; thanks for the info."

The blonde-haired boy dashed down the stairs and out of the arts building, immediately making a left for the concert hall. He could just see Envy's sister walking out of the large glass doors; for the first time, Ed actually noticed the concert hall looked quite different from all the other buildings. It was much nicer, actually.

_There she is,_ he thought, walking towards the black-taloned girl.

"Hey, Lust!" He called, not feeling very awkward since he was somewhat well-acquainted with the girl. She looked up, her attention caught.

"Hello there," she answered sultrily. "How are you?" Ed approached her, his face flushing from his sprint down the stairs.

"I'm pretty good, but I need to ask you about something," he said casually, shifting his weight onto his other leg.

"What would that be?"

"Uh... would you possibly be able to help me out with something or other?" Edward asked, his confidence losing power. Lust smirked.

"Is it about Envy?"

"What _is_ it with you females and romantic intuition?" The blonde said, a bit exasperated but joking all the same. "Yes, it's about Envy. I need-"

"You need me to help you find a few good presents for him?" Lust finished, smiling cunningly. Edward sighed.

"What are you, a mind reader?"

"Only on some days," the black-haired girl answered nonchalantly. "How about we go tomorrow, before everyone leaves on Sunday? Everyone except Envy, of course." Ed stayed silent, keeping the deal about Envy coming with him for Christmas to himself.

"Yeah, sounds good. Where should we...?" He trailed off, letting Lust finish his sentence.

"Meet? East gates; I can take you to a few places Envy would love," she said kindly. "And I'd say around 8:30AM sounds good, right?" The blonde nodded, feeling the utmost happiness inside him.

"Sounds great. Thanks a whole bunch," he said, grinning. Lust smiled softly at him.

"No need to thank me; I'm happy to help someone who makes my brother as happy as he is." Edward's heart thumped and his face blushed at the unusually sweet words.

"Seriously?"

"I'm _always_ serious, Ed," Lust responded in her naturally sultry tone. "I'm glad to see that smile on his face once again; anyone who can bring that out in him is _always_ worth my time."


	26. Chapter 25

**Oh-my-goshness~! Finished the chapter in time! I might take a day off tomorrow just to catch up with chapters and such, but based on how I do tonight, I might now. Either way, I'm so happy~! You know why? Because you fabtastical human beings are sending me so much loves ^o^ I love all your reviews and it always keeps me going! Thank you all so so so much, and please do enjoy chapter 25! :D**

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-Chapter Twenty-Five-(Saturday, December 21st)

Wide awake at 8:00AM, Edward Elric silently got dressed and grabbed his wallet. He opened it and counted how much money he had left before he was out: about $70. _I guess I'll spend the last of it on Envy,_ he thought, shoving the wallet into his pocket. While pocketing his phone as well, the blonde considered writing a note to the still sleeping Envy that he was going to be gone for the day.

_Er..._ Ed thought, taking out a pen and scrap of paper.

_Dear Envy,_

_I'm going out for the day to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Don't try and follow me because I know you will, you palm tree. See you later._

_-Ed_

Suddenly, the blonde-haired boy remembered that he had yet to call Hohenheim and inquire about Envy's staying at their house. _I better do that once I leave..._ he thought.

_P.S.: I called Hohenheim. He said yes._

_Might as well make him happy for today,_ Edward thought sweetly. _God... I really hope Hohenheim says yes... I don't want to get Envy's hopes up and then have that bastard actually say no..._

Ed closed the dorm door in complete silence, not waking Envy. He took out his phone, his heart pounding from nervousness, and dialed his father's number.

[Calling: HOHENHEIM]

"C'mon, please answer..." Edward whispered as the dial tone sounded. After about a minute, he heard a click.

"Hello?" His father asked on the other end, a sleepy tone in his voice. "Ed?"

"Yeah, it's me, Dad," Ed answered, sighing with a bit of relief.

"How are you, Edward? It's been a while since I've talked to you. Are you coming home for Christmas on Sunday?"

"I'm good, and yeah, I am," the son responded. "But speaking of which... Dad? Can I bring..." he paused, looking for the right word. "...a friend with me? He wants to spend it at our place." Hohenheim paused, but then slowly responded, "Doesn't he want to spend it with his family?"

"No, they... he... isn't going home. Can he come?" Ed held his breath, hoping for a positive answer.

"Sure, Ed. It's about time you made some friends other than just Winry. I'm glad you're enjoying school," the father said, smiling on the other end of the line. Similarly, Edward grinned widely at his permission.

"Great! Thanks so much, Hohe- Dad," he said happily. "Alright, so I'll see you late Sunday or Monday. Bye!"

"Bye, Edward. Get home safely."

"I will. Bye." Ed shut his phone, feeling like he could just skip around in joy.

_YES! Envy can come~! _He thought ecstatically. _Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay~!_ With that, the blonde-haired boy joyfully headed downstairs to meet with Lust to buy spectacular things for his beloved Envy.

"... now would probably be a good time to wake up, right?" Envy mumbled, rubbing his eyes and sitting up in bed. "It's about 8:30, right? I'm meeting with Winry around 9..." He looked around sleepily, noticing that his little blonde boy was missing. "I wonder where _he_ went...?" The black-haired boy stood up, scratching his head and picking up a few articles of clothing from his suitcase. It was at that moment that he noticed the note Edward left for him.

As he read each and every word, a small grin spread across his face. _I guess the shrimp had the same idea as I did,_ Envy thought. But as his eyes finished reading the very last sentence, his heart skipped a beat.

_I... I can come with Ed!_ He thought with an equal happiness to the boy he mentioned. _This is fabtastical. No joke. Oh my god, I can actually carry out my plan~! Now I __**have**__ to get the absolute __**best**__ present(s) in the universe for that blonde chibi._ As Envy got dressed, the wide smile on his face wouldn't disappear.

_This is going to be the most amazing Christmas ever._

"So, where are you taking me?" Edward asked Lust as the two walked out of the eastern gates. The black-haired girl turned to him, a slightly devious smile crossing her lips.

"Somewhere that Envy would absolutely _love_," she said mysteriously.

"A male lingerie store?" Ed joked, raising an amused snort from Lust.

"No, but that _is _a good idea, when you get a bit more serious," she winked at the blonde suggestively, causing him to blush.

"Meh..." he mumbled.

"But as of now, do you have anything in mind for him?" Lust inquired, leading Edward off to a side street. He considered this, searching his mind for any creative spark.

"Well... for creative writing a couple of months ago..." he muttered, blushing even deeper than before.

"Mmhmm?"

"...I wrote a poem. About Envy. It's not blatantly obvious, but..." Lust looked at him pointedly, guessing the actual nature of the poem. "Okay, yes, it's blatantly obvious. And it's in a Shakespearian-language style, so... maybe he would like that?" The fair-skinned girl laughed, taking one of her black talon-like nails and poking Ed's cheek with it.

"Of _course_ he would like that, you imbecile," she said sarcastically, getting a small rise out of Edward. "As you've probably seen, Envy is a total sucker for things like that; all the romantic things he does is really what he wants done to him. He can be such a girl sometimes." Despite his anger at the word "imbecile," the blonde had to chuckle at that.

"Girly, but..." he started, his voice quieting. "... absolutely adorable."

"I'm sure compliments like that wouldn't hurt, either," Lust remarked, stopping in front of a particular store Ed hadn't ever seen before. The small sign said in cute letters: "Fiona's Chocolates and Sweets Emporium."

"_This_," the black-haired girl gestured towards the shop. "Is Envy's dreamland."

"Shitshitshitshit..." Envy muttered, rushing down the stairs while pulling on a coat. "How long does it take for a gorgeous guy like me to take a shower? Obviously more than 45 minutes... aargh, I've cut down the time to shop for Ed! Shiiiiiiiit!" He burst through the dormitory doors, pushing aside a couple of students, and instantly started to sprint towards the northern gates. His violet eyes spotted Winry's blonde hair waiting around by the gateway, most likely very impatiently.

"Winry!" He shouted, gasping for air. "I'm here! I'm here!" The girl turned to face his general direction, waving and smiling as if the boy wasn't frantically running to her.

"What took you so long?" She asked, as Envy approached her and bent down to catch his breath.

"Ugh..." the black-haired boy grumbled in response. "Just don't mention it. Where are we going today?" Winry looked a bit unnerved at first from the taller boy's disgruntled mutterings, but then smiled softly.

"Eager to get started, huh?" She commented. "We'll hit a bunch of stores that I have a feeling Ed would like." Envy nodded, straightening up and walking out the gates.

"Alright. Shall we get going?" He proposed, glancing back at Winry; she nodded.

"Yep, let's go."

"Whoa..." Edward mumbled, staring hungrily at the desserts in front of him. "I think I've died and gone to heaven." Lust snickered.

"Don't get too carried away; we're here for Envy, remember that." The blonde waved his hand in acknowledgment.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," he said, eyeing the price tags. "Some of this stuff is _expens_ive. Sheesh..." In front of him were arrays of delicious sweets and scrumptious treats: chocolate-covered strawberries, walnut fudge, cherry cordials, chocolate-covered marshmallows, sour gummy slices, caramel apples, and butterscotch cookies, but that was only a small selection of things that were in the extravagant store.

"If you want, I could tell you which things Envy would like best," Lust mumbled; at least, it sounded like mumbling to Edward since the store was quite crowded.

"Nah, I think I can figure it out myself," Ed responded, grinning. "I mean, I have to do _some_ work here." The black-haired girl smiled back, thinking about how happy her brother will be upon receiving the increasing amount of sweets the blonde was selecting.

By the time he was done, Ed only had a measly $10 left in his wallet; the other $60 went into the huge red box that the shop attendant was filling up for him.

"Is this for Christmas?" The girl behind the counter asked.

"Yeah; will it last that long?" The blonde questioned, concerned if the sweets would still be good after a few days.

"Totally," the shop girl gushed. "The bigger boxes come with cooling insulation and are wrapped in plastic, so it'll definitely stay good until the holidays.

"Great," Edward said, smiling. The attendant blushed at his mellowness, feeling a bit of attraction for him. However, with Ed being as notoriously oblivious as ever, he didn't notice. But, with the black-taloned girl being as perceptive as ever, she had a clear idea of what was going on.

"So, is this for someone special?" The attendant asked, placing about five chocolate-covered strawberries in the box.

"Um... yeah, someone really special," Ed responded, blushing a bit at the thought of Envy.

"Well, that special someone is going to get fat after eating all this!" The girl commented bluntly, sending a shock of displeasure through the blonde's veins.

"Uh..." he muttered.

"You know what's _my_ favorite sweet here? The caramel chews," she continued assertively, pointing at the said sweets. "You should get those."

"Uh... well..." Ed tried awkwardly. "I don't think..."

"Any person who doesn't like caramel doesn't know how to appreciate their close ones." Another cold sensation ran into Edward's blood.

"Well..." It was at this point where Lust spoke up, placing a hand on each of the blonde's shoulders.

"Sorry, honey, this boy bats for the same team, if you know what I'm getting at," the black-haired girl said snidely, a bit disgusted by the shop girl's behavior. "Stop flirting while on the job and do what you're paid to do." The attendant looked at the two of them in shock; she finished packing the box in silence, handing it to Edward without touching him and quietly shuffling away with his payment.

"Wow, that was... awkward," Ed muttered, blushing a bit. Lust smiled at him reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "What d'you get him?"

"Holy fudge..." Envy gasped, gazing up at the endless shelves of books upon books upon books. He looked back at Winry, who stood behind him with a small smirk on her face.

"Well?" She asked smugly.

"... is this seriously all Ed is interested in?" The black-haired boy chuckled. "I mean, I know books are great and all, but doesn't he have other interests?"

"You mean other than chemistry and you? I haven't noticed," Winry joked. "But yeah, Ed is a total bookaholic. I would think this would be a good place to start. Can you think of any genres or series _you_ like?" Envy thought about this, his mind searching through all the books he's read in his lifetime. _What would be absolutely perfect for him...?_

"... bring me to the science fiction section."

Meanwhile, Lust and Edward exited the sweets shop and were making their way around town. They stopped to glance at a couple of store windows, but Ed failed to spend a dime for, as said before, he only had a $10 bill left. But as they turned around a corner, the blonde-haired boy immediately recognized a certain sight.

"Hey, Edward," Lust called, nudging him in the side as his blood turned icy. "Isn't that...?"

"Yes, it is..." he mumbled, blushing. "But I'm not getting it. First of all, I only have $10. Second of all-"

"I can lend you money," the black-haired girl interrupted, grinning deviously.

"_Second of all,_ that's _humiliat-_"

"It would make Envy _happy..._" Lust stressed the last word, causing Ed to turn redder.

"I know, but..."

"I'll _pay_ you to do it."

"I don't need your bribes, Lust."

"Just think about how _happy_ Envy would be. Imagine what he would want to _do_ to you..." Lust continued seductively, inexplicably sneaking the fantasy into the blonde's mind. Instantaneously, his heart pounded and a warm shiver ran down his spine.

"Holy shit..." Edward mumbled. He turned to face the black-haired girl, and finally gave in. "Fine. For Envy..."

"That's my girl," Lust joked, handing over the required money and sending the embarrassed blonde into the familiar clothing store.


	27. Chapter 26

**Herp derp :3 Happy Mother's Day to all, guys! I had a great day with my wonderful mum... ehehehe ^_^ Either way, I got way ahead on the story today, so I can continue posting every day! Please enjoy~!**

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-Chapter Twenty-Six-

"Envy..." Winry grumbled, lingering behind the boy in question. "How much longer are you going to take? Just a rough estimate."

"An estimate?" Envy responded, staring at a bookshelf up and down. "Perhaps another 3 millennia. Give or take a few hundred years."

"A _precise_ estimate?" The blonde girl corrected herself.

"Then it wouldn't be an estimate, hm?" The black-haired boy remarked sarcastically, chuckling. "Just for a few more minutes. I want to make this the best Christmas ever for Ed." Winry couldn't help but soften at Envy's sweet intentions.

"That's a pretty high goal," she said. "Then again, he's had some pretty crappy Christmases before..." Envy's ears perked up, unnaturally interested in what Winry had to say.

"What?" He asked. "What happened?"

"Well..." Winry trailed off. "I guess the Christmas after his mom died was pretty hard." A bolt of sadness struck in the black-haired boy's heart, instantly making him feel full of sympathy.

"Ed's mom is... dead?" Envy inquired again, obviously depressed.

"Yeah. She died of a very rare disease; it happened so suddenly that Ed and Al couldn't even say goodbye before she passed... away..." Tears welled up in Winry's eyes as she remembered those hard times and, soon after, the deaths of her own parents. She tried to rub them away, but more salty tears poured out and down her cheeks. Of course, Envy could only stand there, unable to really do anything to help.

"I'm... really sorry I brought it up," he mumbled, shuffling from side to side awkwardly.

"It's...hic... it's okay," the blonde-haired girl reassured, hiccuping a bit from crying. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and then walked on ahead of Envy. "Don't worry about it. But either way, I'm here to help you make this the best Christmas ever for Ed, right?" Winry turned back and smiled at him. "Let's get to that, shall we? You wanna buy those books in your hands before we head off to our next stop?" Envy looked down at the tall stack of literature in his arms, and nodded at Winry.

"Alright. Um..." the black-haired boy said. "Thank you for, umm... helping me."

"Again, don't worry about it," was all the girl said in response, as the two paid for the books and headed off to their next destination.

Redder than an apple, Edward Elric exited the shop with a large bag in his hand. Lust approached him, a small grin sneaking up on her face.

"I hope you found the right size," she said, almost bursting out with insane laughter but suppressing it for the blonde's sake.

"You have no idea how fucking awkward that was," Ed retorted, frowning. "The cashier was male, too. And incredibly flamboyant at that. I can _not_ believe you got me to do that."

"Hmhmhmhm..." Lust chuckled. "It's all for Envy, right?" The blonde hesitantly nodded before heading off a direction where he smelled food.

"That bastard better love me to death for this," he grumbled.

_Oh, he will,_ Lust thought, following him through the incredibly busy town square.

Meanwhile, Envy and Winry were making their way around town as well. They stopped at a few stores, examining the products with Envy not finding a single thing he would want to buy for Edward. After about a half hour of searching, Winry was getting incredibly exasperated.

"Envy, would you just _pick_ something?" She asked irritatedly.

"I _would_, if there was something to_ pick_!" He responded with an equally irritated tone.

_Why is there nothing here other than books that I could get for that little blonde?_ Envy thought. _There has to be __**something... **_As he walked past an entertainment store, thought about what Ed might like from there. _I don't think he likes video games, does he?_

"Hey, Winry..." the black-haired boy called, stopping the girl and bringing her back to him.

"What?"

"Is Ed into video games or anything like that?" The blonde-haired girl considered this idea, tracing her memories back to a time where her sort-of brother ever played video games.

"Hmm... nah, I can't remember a time when he played one."

"Dammit. What about graphic novels. Like, say, manga?"

"He never was into comics or anything like that."

"What about movies? Please tell me he's watched a movie before in his life." Envy asked anxiously, beginning to wonder if his boyfriend had been living under a rock for all his life. Winry giggled, noticing Envy's desperate tone of voice.

"Yes, he's watched movies before," she responded. "I remember he liked Spielberg films and a couple of comedies." The blonde girl eyed him suggestively. "He doesn't watch anything sexual, though, if that's what you're getting at." The black-haired boy blushed a bit, but shook it away to give a sarcastic response to Winry.

"Aww..." he said mockingly. "I was gonna get some gay porn and a little portable DVD player and watch it with him when nobody's home... and then..." He grinned lecherously for dramatic effect. "Well... you know..." At this point, Winry was bright red and her ears were disgustingly harassed.

"Alright, I get it..." she muttered embarrassedly. "Let's go in, I can help you pick out a couple of Ed's favorites."

"There better be some porn among that," Envy added jokingly, nudging the blonde girl suggestively.

"J-Just... no..." Winry stammered.

"Fine, a romantic comedy it is," Envy said happily.

After another half hour of movie perusal, the black and blonde haired boy and girl decided they would grab some food and go home; "home" being their respective dorms.

"How about we get halal?" Envy suggested. "I love halal."

"Since when have you ever eaten halal food in your life?" Winry asked. "And wait, since when is there a halal cart in this dreary old to-"

"FOUND ONE!" Envy cheered, winding around the crowd and following both his sense of smell and sight of the faraway food seller. Winry sighed, hurriedly following the boy's long and spiky black hair throughout the crowd.

Of course, at that exact moment, Ed and Lust were making their way to that exact same halal cart.

"What kind of food does a 'halal cart' sell?" The black-haired girl inquired as she followed the blonde through the mesh of people.

"Oh, you know, gyros and lamb over rice and falafel..." Edward responded.

"Gyros? Falafel?" Lust inquired again, feeling a bit stupid from her lack of knowledge but thirsty for more all the same.

"Gyros are kind of like tacos... only it's beef or lamb or chicken in pita bread with lettuce and tzatziki sauce..." Ed explained, struggling for the right words. "And falafels are fried chick pea balls of sorts."

"If I were Envy, I would be laughing perversely at that last statement," Lust commented mischievously. The blonde snorted.

"He probably would laugh at that, wouldn't he?" He said, taking out his wallet as the two approached the halal vendor. "I'll pay for both of us. What do you want?"

Just as Ed ordered his and Lust's food, Envy broke through the crowd with Winry trailing behind him, only to go right back in to hide.

"The fu-" Winry exclaimed confusedly as the black-haired boy pulled her back into the crowd.

"Shhhhhhhhh!" He shushed, peering at Ed from afar.

"I don't think you need to say that, we're in a-"

"WINRY!" Envy shouted as quietly as he could. "_Ed is right there. And Lust is with him_. He doesn't know that I'm shopping with you for his gifts!" Winry followed the boy's vision line to see that he was right.

"Shit," she muttered. "Well, we could find another place to eat..."

"But... halal food!" Envy whined, deserving him an annoyed hit on the arm.

"Fine, we'll wait until they're gone, and _then_ get the food."

Predictably, Lust was fully aware of Envy's and Winry's presence in her vicinity. _Should I...?_ She thought devilishly.

"Ed," she tapped the blonde on the shoulder, who was already holding half of their food order in his hands.

"Nn?" He asked in response.

"Envy is hiding in the crowd with Winry," the black-haired girl said, a devious glint in her eyes. Goodness, this was going to be fun.

"With Winry...?" Edward repeated, pondering his boyfriend's reasoning. "Did he convince her to help him stalk me or something...?" Lust chuckled.

"No, I think they might have been doing the same thing as us," she remarked. "Do you want to go say hi?" Ed smirked, shaking his head.

"Nah, if they're hiding in the crowd, they obviously don't want to be seen," he reasoned, paying the vendor and giving Lust's order to her. "Let's just get going; I have a feeling that the only reason that they're around is because they're eyeing the same halal cart as us."

"Good, he's gone!" Envy exclaimed, dashing out of the crowd with wallet in hand. "Oh god, I would've never thought I'd actually say that about Ed..." he muttered, blushing a bit from shame. "What d'you want, Winry?" The blonde-haired girl trailed behind him and tiredly muttered something that sounded like "falafel." The black-haired boy nodded, ordering the food and soon paying for it and going off with Winry in tow.

"Sometimes I wonder how Edward manages to muster up the energy to keep up with you," Winry muttered bluntly as she bit into her falafel sandwich. Envy laughed.

"He must suck it out of me; normally I'm not this energetic around him," he commented. "Or maybe today I'm just happy that I'm gonna make that little shrimp happy." The black-haired boy glanced around, his eyes setting upon a single t-shirt in a clothing store across the way. He turned to Winry and said, "One sec. I'm buying one more thing, and then we'll split. Okay?" The blonde-haired girl gave an exhausted nod, giving Envy leave to buy that one t-shirt he saw for his special blonde boy.

-Back at the dorm-

"O'Chibi-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan~!" Envy shouted, bursting through the door and startling his boyfriend into sharply shutting his suitcase.

"Geez, can you be a _bit_ louder?" Edward asked rhetorically, grinning and standing up to hug the black-haired boy. "Welcome back, you palm tree."

"Glad to be back!" Envy said happily, entering the dorm and discreetly hiding his shopping bags behind the side table. "How was your shopping day?"

"Oh, it was..." the blonde blushed, thinking of that one item that he bought. "... good. Very, um, productive, I guess..." The taller boy smirked, kissing Ed on the cheek.

"That's good," he said. "I guess I should get packed up now, right? I'm going home with you tomorrow, after all." That's right, he _was_ going home with Edward tomorrow. A warm feeling crept up in the blonde's heart, filling him with an equal happiness to Envy's.

"You are, indeed," Ed smiled, hugging the spiky-haired boy tightly before releasing him. "Get packed, so we can leave earlier in the morning." He sat down next to his suitcase again, folding his clothes into it. Envy peered over his shoulder, curious if the blonde-haired boy had already packed away what he had bought.

"_En_vy!" Edward reprimanded, blushing a bit. "Stop looking over my shoulder, it's... unnerving!"

"What? I'm just _curious_," Envy purred. "What did you buy today?"

"N-Nothing..." Ed mumbled, zippering up his suitcase faster than could be seen. "Come on, just go pack, okay?" A mischievous smile curled up on Envy's face, but he soon complied and sneakily packed away the gifts he bought for his wonderful boyfriend.

"You know, I'm really excited to meet your dad, O'Chibi-san," the black-haired boy said softly. "I wonder what he's like."

"He can be a bit of a jerk..." the shorter boy muttered. "But not always, given that he's letting me take you home..."

"Ooh, take me _home_, Edward~!" Envy repeated suggestively, causing Ed to embarrassedly throw a pillow at his head.

"_Not like that, you __**palm tree**_," the pillow-thrower stammered. Envy laughed, chucking the pillow back at him with a bit too much force; the blonde stumbled backwards and fell onto his bed. "Ow, what the hell, Envy?" The taller boy looked back at him from his suitcase, grinning like it was the end of the world.

"You're adorable, Ed. I lo-" He stopped himself, his cheeks turning crimson. "I-I mean... I lo- lo... I'm looking forward to tomorrow!"

_You __**moron**__, _he thought scaldingly.

"Uh..." Edward said. "Uh... okay...?" The golden-eyed boy got up from his bed, walked over to Envy, and reseated himself next to him. "I'm kinda nervous, though."

"Why's that?" Envy asked, still blushing a bit.

"Well... my dad doesn't know I'm gay. Or that you're my boyfriend."

"Are you gonna tell him?"

"To be honest... I have no idea," Ed mumbled, shifting around awkwardly. "I'm kinda afraid of how he would react." The black-haired boy wrapped an arm around him reassuringly, lightly kissing his cheek.

"Don't over-think it. When it seems like the right time, just go ahead and say it," Envy said, with his inner voice screaming, _Why don't __**you**__ take some of that advice, you hypocrite?_ Edward smiled gently at his violet-eyed boyfriend.

"You're right," was all he said. The two's lips delicately met, synchronizing their heartbeats and matching each other's passion.

_God, Edward,_ Envy thought. _I really fucking love you._


	28. Chapter 27

**I had a bit of a hard time writing this chapter; I didn't know where to start with Envy and Al's conversation, to be honest ^_^''' Either way, I'm absolutely ecstatic by the steady stream of reviews everyday !u! So much happy~ So, as scheduled every day unless otherwise stated, please enjoy your next chapter of DYLS? ^O^**

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-Chapter Twenty-Seven-(Sunday, December 22nd)

"Good morning, Ed," Envy purred, stroking the blonde's chest playfully. Edward's eyes slowly opened, settling on the black-haired boy lying next to him. "Ready to get going?" Ed yawned, stretching his arms around a bit as he sat up.

"Yeah, I'll just get dressed and then we'll go," he said drowsily. Envy smiled, grabbing the boy back down and kissing him passionately on the lips.

"It's snowing today~!" The taller boy said cheerfully, hugging his boyfriend tightly. Edward grinned back.

"All the more reason to get out of bed and get dressed," he responded, freeing himself from the black-haired boy's grasp. "Come on! Time to wake up, Envy!"

"It's cold, Eeeeed..." Envy whined, wrapping the bed covers around him.

"You're wearing pajamas, you can't be that cold," Ed commented, trying to pull the blankets away from the stubborn boy.

"Er..." Envy began. "I guess you haven't noticed, but, erm..." He released his grip on the covers, letting Edward take them away to reveal that he was absolutely and completely topless. "... I don't often sleep with a shirt on."

The shorter boy froze, his face bright red and his eyes locked on Envy's perfectly sculpted body. A warmth ran to his nose, sending the one-second-too-late message to his brain: "Nosebleed alert!"

"Aargh! ED! You're having a fucking nosebleed all over yourself!" Envy shouted, scrambling out of bed and dashing into the bathroom to grab a wad of tissues. Ed panicked, blushing like mad and trying to cover his nose with his hand, but to no avail. The black-haired boy shoved the tissues into his other hand, ordering him to press them into his nose so to help the clotting process. Red liquid continued to stain the

"Holy _shit_, Ed," Envy muttered. "You should've told me you were prone to nosebleeds, I would've toned down my sexiness for you." He chuckled, smirking at the blonde.

"_Shut up,_" Edward mumbled embarrassedly, blotting up any escapee blood droplets. "You just shocked me, that's all." The black-haired boy hooked an arm around him, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"A _good _kind of shock?" He asked suggestively.

"... maybe," Ed mumbled again, delicately touching his nose and tossing out the bloody tissues. "Looks like I've stopped bleeding."

"Good," the taller boy said. "Now I can't help but wonder what would happen if I only slept in my boxers..."

"I did _not_ need to know that you wear boxers," Edward remarked, grabbing the set of clothes he had left out for himself the night before.

"But you _wanted_ to know," Envy suggested.

"... did not."

"Oh, yes you did."

"I did _not_!"

"I bet five dollars you _did_!"

"Well, you're going to lose that bet!"

"Do you wanna take that chance? I'll take my pants off right now; if you have a nosebleed, I win," Envy said seductively, tilting Edward's chin up towards him. The blonde pushed himself backwards, turning redder than a tomato.

"D-D-Don't do that!" He exclaimed, scrambling into the bathroom and shutting the door. "Put a goddamn shirt on and get ready to leave!" Envy grinned deviously, slipping into a warm cotton shirt.

"As you wish, my dear O'Chibi-san," he purred.

_He's so fun to tease~!_

A few minutes later, both Edward and Envy were fully dressed and ready for winter: the former wore a white fleece sweater lined with black faux-fur, black jeans, warm leather gloves, brown boots, and a simple red scarf; the latter wore a black suede and fur-lined jacket with wooden buttons, loose flannel pants, black shoes, and the hat and cape Ed had gotten for him so long ago.

"You look adorable, Ed," Envy complimented, adjusting the buttons on his own coat.

"Not as much as you do..." Edward mumbled in response, earning him a sweet kiss of thanks from his taller boyfriend.

"How about we get going?" The black-haired boy asked, grabbing both their suitcases and unlocking the door. Ed nodded.

"Yeah. Winry and Al are probably already waiting at the station," the blonde said. "Let's go."

Once outside, Edward saw that the ground was lightly dusted with a layer of soft snow, and more was still delicately falling from the clouds above. Envy held his arms close, shivering a bit; in turn, the blonde held him close so that his body heat would be transferred to the black-haired boy.

"You're always so warm, O'Chibi-san," Envy remarked, snuggling close to his boyfriend as they walked across the campus. The blonde felt Envy grab his gloved hand, entwining their fingers in a warm embrace. _I'll let it slide this time,_ Edward lied to himself, smiling softly at the taller boy's touch. In their free hands, the two boys dragged along their rolling suitcases through the snow, making curvy tracks follow behind them. Through the falling water crystals, Ed could just see Alphonse and Winry standing close to each other at the western gates, decked out in this winter jackets and holding several suitcases. He waved good-naturedly to them; they didn't notice, so they didn't wave back. A large number of other students were also making their ways across campus, but very few headed in the same direction as the four main characters; the town where Edward, Al, and Winry lived in was not very big. The couple approached the two blondes, their cheeks red from the cold.

"Hey!" Ed greeted, giving another wave.

"Hey, brother," Alphonse responded with a smile, his face flushed from what didn't seem like the cold.

"Alright, so are we all ready to go?" Winry asked, picking up her bags. "The first train leaves in about 15 minutes. Luckily, it's only a 5 minute walk from here." Ed and Envy nodded, following the two across from them out of the gates and to the grand train station in silence.

Upon arriving at the terminal, the four picked up their school-paid tickets and made their way to the train headed south; Envy remarked that his house was located more to the west.

"The ride is about three or four hours, so you might as well get comfortable," Winry said as they loaded their bags onto the luggage carriage.

"That's great and all, but where can I grab some food around here?" Edward asked, rubbing his stomach in an exaggerated expression of hunger.

"Once we're on the train, we can get breakfast from the food car," the blonde-haired girl responded. The four waited around in front of the locomotive for a bit before getting on, handing off their tickets to the attendant.

"It's so warm in here~!" Envy said cheerily, plopping down onto a comfy couch. "I think a nap sounds pretty nice around now." Ed grinned at him lovingly, removing his hat and opening his coat for him.

"At least make an effort to not overheat yourself, Envy," the blonde said softly, sitting down in a nearby chair.

"What's that? I was sleeping," the black-haired boy responded sarcastically.

"This is really a nice train," Alphonse commented, looking around in wonder. "Who knows how expensive it is for the school to pay for this..."

"Not really, since it's _our parents_ that pay for us to _go_ here," Winry joked, removing her coat and draping it over a wall hook. "I'm gonna go get breakfast. Anyone wanna come with?" Edward suddenly stood up, his stomach grumbling as if in response.

"I'll go," he said enthusiastically. "I'll bring back some for Envy and Al, too." The two mentioned boys nodded, and Edward and Winry exited the car in search of foodstuffs.

Envy and Alphonse sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, with the latter wanting to initiate a conversation, but was unsure of how to go about it.

"Umm... so..." he mumbled, sitting down in the same chair his older brother sat in moments ago. "How's it going?"

Envy opened one purple eye to look at him.

"I'm good, I guess," he responded simply, wary of the younger blonde's intentions.

"It looks like it might be a white Christmas this year," Al remarked, nervously shifting his eyes around.

"Yeah, sure," Envy agreed, issuing another short and simple response. It seemed quite obvious to Alphonse that his brother's boyfriend wasn't feeling very sociable when it came to him.

"Umm..." Al struggled for the right words; the black-haired boy sat up to look straight at him.

"What's up? You got a question?" He asked, his voice seeming more hostile than he meant it to.

"Well..." the blonde continued. "I dunno, I kinda want to get to know you better, since you're my brother's boyfriend and all..." This suggestion took Envy aback; he was not used to people wanting to get to know him, let alone have someone outright ask him.

"Well, okay," Envy responded neutrally. "Ask away."

"Okay," Alphonse said, a bit more confident after the black-haired boy's affirmation. "So, why do you like Ed?" Envy inadvertently blushed, rubbing his arms uncomfortably.

"Kind of a straightforward question, don't you think?" He half-joked. Al grinned.

"Well, you said ask away, so..." he said.

"Alright, so..." Envy began. "He's not fake; when I talk to him he means everything he says. Except when he doesn't but he isn't a very good liar." He and Al chuckled at the comment. "And, you know, he isn't the least attractive guy on the planet..." Alphonse nodded, gesturing for him to go on. "And he gets my humor, and he likes the same things as me, and he... he's easy to talk to and be with." Edward's brother felt a smile rise to his face, his eyes softening at Envy. "What? What's with the puppy-eyes?" Envy asked defensively.

"Huh? No, no, it's not that..." Alphonse reassured. "I guess... I'm just happy that my brother has found someone to be happy with. It's easy to see how happy you make him." The black-haired boy's cheeks flushed a bit.

"You... you think so?" He asked. The blonde nodded.

"Of course. He's never been as close to anyone besides me as he is to you." Despite the enlightening comment, Envy couldn't help but feel a mysterious pang of jealousy from the "besides me" part.

"So I guess that you and Ed are really close then, huh?" He said, his voice containing a hint of acid.

"Yeah, we are," Al confirmed. "He's been taking care of me ever since I was born, even more so after our mom died and our dad got a job at the lawyer firm. I really owe a lot to him." The jealousy in Envy's heart grew, and a sour frown threatened to take over his neutral expression.

"Uh-huh," he grumbled. "I guess... you're really lucky to have an older brother who cares about you so much." With this statement, sadness mixed with jealousy. _If only Greed cared half as much for me as Ed does for Al..._ The black-haired boy thought. _Wait, what? What am I saying? Am I actually __**jealous**__ of that chibi and his brother?_

Alphonse smiled sadly at Envy. "I _am_ lucky. But, you know..." Envy's ears perked up. "Gluttony said to me a couple of times how he wished you would come home." A wave of guilt washed over Envy, but he quickly tried to shake it away.

"He said that?" Envy asked, his voice cracking a bit.

"He did. He misses his older brother... I think, at one point, he said he wanted to at least have one older brother who didn't treat him badly or leave the family forever." Instantly, Envy thought of Ling and Greed, and how awful his little brother must feel that he was now gone, too. There was no one to help Gluttony, no one for Gluttony to look up to.

"Wow. Don't I feel like a piece of shit..." Envy mumbled, covering his face with one hand.

"No, don't feel like that," the blonde said. "We all have reasons why we do things, right? And you know..." the black-haired boy looked at him pitifully. "Your guilt and his missing you just shows that you care for each other."

"... really?" Envy asked.

"Yeah. And even if you hate the rest of your family for whatever reason, it's better than being completely apathetic towards them." Alphonse grinned in a very friendly manner. "There are a lot of people around you who care about you, too. Don't be afraid to ask for help now and then, from me or Ed or Winry or even Lust and Gluttony." Despite his overwhelmingly negative attitude versus asking for help and his family, Envy couldn't help but feel reassured by Al's speech. _He's kind of like his brother in that way,_ Envy thought. _He could come off as being fake-nice or something like that at first, but... he really means what he says. Right?_

"And you know... Ed really, really loves you."

Right after that statement, Edward and Winry returned with plates full of delicious breakfast foods. The two blondes arranged the platters on a table, dragging up chairs and inviting Envy and Alphonse to come eat. Envy stood first, crossing the floor and grabbing his boyfriend by the waist.

"Envy, what're you-" Ed's protests were cut off by Envy's sweet kiss, conquering the shorter boy mind with love and passion. Al and Winry stared at them silently, grinning at the two's love. Edward gently wrapped his arms around the black-haired boy's waist, hugging him and stroking his shoulder blades. The embarrassment of the situation was lost on the blonde-haired boy, for all he knew was that Envy was the one for him.

"So, are you done there or are we going to have to leave the carriage?" Winry snickered, causing the two boys to break apart from their lip lock. Before Ed could speak, Envy retorted,

"Aww, don't be such a cock block, Winryyy..." he whined sarcastically, holding the back of the blonde's head and pressing it to his chest. Winry and Alphonse laughed hysterically as Edward scrambled away, blushing like mad and trilling, "_It's not like that _**it's not like that **_**it's not like that**_ _**it's not like that!**__**"**_ After the four calmed down, they sat down at the table and ate their breakfast, talking idle chatter and expressing their excitement and plans for the days to come.


	29. Chapter 28

**I swear I keep forgetting to add the A/N at the top. Maybe that's telling me something... hmm... o_o''' Either way, I have a lovely chapter here for all you humans who read and review and like my story (over 60 reviews!) ^_^ So, without further ado, please enjoy chapter 28!**

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-Chapter Twenty-Eight-

At around 12:30PM, the locomotive screeched to a stop at a familiar (to Ed, Al, and Winry) station, slightly jarring the passengers inside. However, Envy was too anxious, and perhaps even excited, be bothered by the sudden halt; his thoughts lay deep inside his imagination of discovering everything there was to discover about his beloved boyfriend.

"_En_vy!" Ed called, slightly shaking the boy out of his daze. "Wake up to reality and grab your bags, this is our stop." The black-haired boy grinned, not hiding his excitement with a scowl.

"Alright, alright," he said, taking the blonde's hand as a lift up out of his chair. Alphonse and Winry were already outside, waiting patiently for the two boys to follow. Envy noticed that it had stopped snowing since they left the school; instead, the sky was a clear, crisp blue with no clouds shrouding its color. He and Edward slowly grabbed their luggage, sharing a few sweet kisses here and there, and met back up with the blonde-haired boy and girl.

"So, shall we get going?" Winry proposed, receiving complying nods from the three opposite her. "Alright, so let's go." She turned to Envy, offering an explanation. "We were thinking that you and Ed could head off to the Elric's house and get settled and meet Hohenheim and all while Al and I greet my grandma Pinako at my house..." the blonde-haired girl trailed off, waiting for a response from both the black-haired boy and the two brothers. They nodded in agreement. "So, see you guys in a couple of hours for dinner at my place!" And with that, Winry and Alphonse waved a temporary goodbye as they headed off in one direction, leaving the couple alone at the station. Ed turned awkwardly to the taller boy.

"Um... so should we go?" He asked, fidgeting around uncomfortably. Envy smiled, kissing the blonde lightly on the cheek.

"Sure, where is it?"

It was about a 15-minute walk from the terminal to the house of the Elric family; no big deal, since it had gotten a bit warmer now that the snow stopped. Upon arriving at Ed's house, Envy couldn't help but say, "Kinda small, don't you think?"

"It's not _that_ small..." Edward grumbled. "I mean, it's only for 3 or 4 people, and most of the time only one person actively occupies it..." The black-haired boy chuckled.

"I bet I could fit about _four_ of _your_ houses into _my_ house," he joked, a hint of boasting in his voice.

"If you're gonna brag about your own house, why didn't you just go _there_ for Christmas?" Ed joked back, as Envy shot him a cold look of, _you know why, bastard._ "I know, I know, I'm just kidding," the blonde reassured, taking out his house keys as they walked up the steps. A small note was pinned on the door, hastily scribbled as if the writer was in a big hurry.

_Ed-_

_I was called in for a quick job at the firm today. Will be back at around 2. _

_-Dad_

"Welp, seems like we've got the house to ourselves for an hour," the shorter boy said casually. Envy grinned to himself, the theater of his mind already concocting a magical experience. "Let's go inside and get unpacked." Edward unlocked the rustic-looking wooden door and opened it, revealing the inside of his house to his boyfriend. The door led into a hallway, which then led to a living room, a dining room, a smallish kitchen, an unopened door that was most likely a bathroom or an office, and then a set of stairs that presumably led to the second floor, rather than a portal to another dimension.

"It's kinda..." Envy began, causing Edward to glare at his threateningly.

"If you say _small,_ I'm going t-"

"I _wasn't_ going to say that, you shrimp!" The black-haired boy interrupted, deflecting a hit from the blonde-haired boy. "I was gonna say... cute. It's kinda cute." Ed's face turned a bit pink from the remark, but a smile crept up all the same. "But... it's still not as cute as you..." At that, the blonde almost jumped into Envy's arms, hugging him tightly and blushing.

"Thank you..." he mumbled, feeling the taller boy ruffle his hair as if he were a little kid.

"Anytime, O'Chibi-san," Envy said happily, kissing the boy on the top of his head.

After taking off their coats and other wintery clothing, the two made their way up the stairs and down another hallway to Edward's room; Alphonse had long since occupied a separate room from his older brother. There was a bed, a small wooden desk with two matching chairs, wall shelves that were piled over with books, and a small window that looked over the backyard garden. Ed set down his and Envy's bags next to the desk, and proceeded to get a spare air mattress and pillows from under his bed. The black-haired boy stopped him by holding his shoulders and gently kissing his neck.

"Env-" Edward began, but was immediately stopped by his seductive boyfriend.

"Wasn't I going to sleep in bed with you, O'Chibi-san?" He purred into the blonde's ear; he blushed.

"W-Well, I should set up the, umm, mattress anyways, umm..." Ed stammered. "I mean, Hohenheim might, uh..." Envy subtly crossed his arms over the shorter boy, bringing him closer to his torso.

"Can't we just... relax for now?" Envy cooed again, delicately nipping at Edward's earlobe. "I'm feeling quite in the mood for it, how about you?" Ed blushed at the thought, but didn't move away from the taller boy. Taking this as a "yes," Envy spun his boyfriend around to face him and kissed him passionately on the lips, giving the spark that would light the fiery love within the shorter boy's own heart.

**(A/N: Small warning here for slightly explicit scene, but nothing that would be rated M! I don't write lemons!)**

The blonde-haired boy stroked Envy's thin spine up and down in the way the taller boy loved oh-so-much. Their kiss deepened, their mouths gently opening and closing in perfect timing.

"Ed?" Envy whispered, breaking their lip lock for just a moment. "Can I...?" Ed nodded, guessing from the black-haired boy's body language what he wanted to do. He nodded back, slowly moving the shorter boy backwards and laying him down on the bed. Envy crouched over him, meeting Edward's gaze with those captivating purple eyes.

"Your eyes, Envy..." Ed whispered sweetly. "Have I ever told you how gorgeous they were?" The taller boy chuckled, brushing a stray blonde hair from Ed's cheek.

"Over a thousand times, but one more couldn't do any harm." He leaned down into the blonde with a slightly open mouth, meeting lips once again. But this time, the black-haired boy's tongue reluctantly flicking into Edward's mouth, coaxing it into opening up. Running his fingers through Envy's long hair, Ed complied; his senses were soon overwhelmed with Envy's taste and smell, subduing his mind and letting his heart and body take over.

"Ah... ah..." he moaned as his tongue met with the spiky-haired boy's. In response, Envy quietly moaned back, his hands rubbing Ed's back up and down. "Mm... ahn..." Without asking, the black-haired boy delicately moved his fingers underneath Ed's shirt, rubbing his bare skin in tender circles.

"Envy..." Edward sighed, folding his hands behind the boy's neck. "Ah, Envy..." The boy whose name was whispered had moved his lips down to the blonde's neck, nipping at the sensitive skin. "Don't... don't..." The black-haired boy immediately stopped, staring down anxiously into Ed's golden eyes.

"What's wrong? I can stop if you're not ready," he stated worriedly. The blonde boy smiled.

"Just don't give me a hickey, palm tree," he chuckled, kissing Envy on the lips once more.

"Sure thing, shrimp." The taller boy moved back down to Edward's neck, planting light kisses from his jawline to his collarbone. It was loving, not hungry, but it certainly made the blonde-haired boy crave more contact.

"Envy..." he mumbled, rubbing his boyfriend's shoulders.

"Yeah?" Envy asked, looking him in the eyes again.

"Kiss me more." A smirk rose to both their faces.

"As you wish, O'Chibi-san." He kissed Edward, as requested, as he moved his hands up the boy's shirt and delicately stroked the small pink nub he found by touch. Ed took a sharp breath, apparently startled by the shot of pleasure that emanated from his chest.

"Oh my god..." the blonde gasped, going in and locking lips with the black-haired boy again. His own hands were making their way around Envy, rubbing his lean chest and bony shoulders. "Damn, Envy..."

"Enjoyable?" The spiky-haired boy purred, moving his head down onto Ed's now bare chest. "See, _I_ don't get a nosebleed." Edward smirked ironically.

"Maybe it's just because I'm not all that good to look at," he muttered, scorning himself. In response, Envy pinched both his nipples. Hard. "OW! What the **fuck**, Envy?"

"That's what you get for insulting yourself, shrimp," Envy chuckled.

"Well, how am I supposed to have any self esteem if you keep calling me a shrimp?" Ed groaned, prompting the black-haired boy to stare up at him mischievously.

"Oh, you'll see, O'Chibi-san." The pale-skinned boy moved his mouth closer to Edward's chest, raising curiosity within the blonde-haired boy.

_What is he...?_ He thought, until suddenly he felt a moist warmth on the most sensitive areas on his chest. _Holy...! _Envy had taken that small pink bud into his mouth, circling his tongue around it and activating every pleasure nerve within Ed's body.

"Aaaahn... Mmmm..." Edward moaned relatively loudly, raising a grin on the taller boy's face. Envy paused his actions to look at Ed's flushed face, filled with ecstasy and pleasure.

**(A/N: Okay, it's over for the people who feel a bit squeamish about these things ^_^)**

"Did you like that, Ed?" He asked sweetly, wrapping his arms around the boy beneath him.

"No, I absolutely hated it," the blonde responded sarcastically. "Yes, I freaking liked that."

"Good!" Envy exclaimed a bit too excitedly. "Then I'll make sure to stop now." Edward pushed himself upwards in surprise, tipping over the boy who sat on him.

"What? Why?" He exclaimed back, as the black-haired boy sat back down in his lap, hugging him and twiddling with his braid.

"Because we have to leave things for later, my little blonde chibi," the taller boy answered simply. "Because I feel like hugging you now. Because I don't want you to regret too much later. Because you're just so goddamn cute when you're a bit pissed off at me." He paused for a second, thinking. "Because I'm a sadistic bastard."

"Ugh, fine," Ed groaned, not resisting the grin that threatened to spread across his face. "Makes a bit of sense." Envy hugged him tightly, his heart swelling with love and happiness.

"You'll thank me one day, I can tell you that."

Only a few seconds later was when the two barely heard the front door open from downstairs.

"Ed? Are you home yet?


	30. Chapter 29

**PLEASE READ A/N: Hello, humans~! I have the worst news to tell you, but I have to say it: I will be taking another miniscule hiatus for the time being due to a recent overload of stress and work and all that stuff ;A; But never fear! I will continue writing the chapters during the hiatus and will make sure to update by the weekend ^_^**

**Either way, after that horrendously long A/N, I have a fabtastical new chapter for my lovely readers~! Please enjoy chapter twenty-nine ^o^**

* * *

-Chapter Twenty-Nine-

"Aww..." Envy muttered, his romantic mood completely ruined by the entering of the father. The blonde-haired boy beneath him couldn't help but laugh at the irony of his dismayed expression.

"And here _I _thought that _I_ was the one who didn't want to see Hohenheim," Edward joked, grinning up at the black-haired boy. Envy snorted and got back on his feet, with Ed doing so as well.

"I suggest..." the taller boy mumbled, tugging at Ed's shirt. "You might want to adjust your shirt a bit." The blonde looked down at his shirt in a quick burst of panic.

"What? What's there? You did _not_ give me a hickey, did you?" He asked anxiously. Envy shook his head, his black tendrils smacking Edward in the face a bit.

"No worries, O'Chibi-san," Envy purred. "Your shirt is just a bit messy from our _fabulous _make-out session." The shorter boy blushed, fidgeting with his garment. He looked at his boyfriend expectantly; Envy made the thumbs-up sign in return. With that, the two boys hurriedly made their way downstairs to greet Edward's father.

_I think now would be a time to get incredibly nervous and jelly-legged, don't you think?_ Came an impulsive message from Envy's brain, instantly making his heart pound with nerves and his legs become weak.

_Fuck..._ Envy thought, not voicing his obscenity out of the little common sense he had in him. He could see on the other end of the downstairs hallway that a tall figure stood in the doorway; a good six inches or so taller than Edward.

_That must piss Ed off,_ the spiky-haired boy thought mischievously. Hohenheim had the same flaxen hair as Ed, but he tied it back in a ponytail rather than a braid. A Donegal-styled beard framed his fatigued face, and a set of wire-framed glasses reflected the light from outside so his eyes couldn't be seen. Nonetheless, Envy could easily see the two were related.

"Welcome home, Ho- Dad," Ed greeted, merely shaking the blonde man's hand as if they were business partners who hadn't seen each other for a long time.

"I should say the same to you," Hohenheim responded, a weak smile crossing his face. As the door to outside was closed, the black-haired boy could see the man's eyes: golden and slightly pointed upwards at the corners, just like Ed's. Hohenheim's gaze turned to Envy, causing the boy to automatically stiffen from nervousness.

"You must be Edward's friend," he said kindly, holding out a hand for a handshake. The black-haired boy immediately took it, grinning in a way that (sort of) hid his high-strungness. "Now, now, there's no need to be nervous."

_I just passionately made out with your secretly homosexual son up in his room while you weren't home, I have **plenty** reason to be nervous,_ Envy thought ironically.

"Heh heh..." he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, I'm Envy. Envy Aligheri." Hohenheim nodded, releasing the boy's hand.

"And I'm... well, you probably know," he said, still smiling benevolently. "How about we sit down in the kitchen and I'll brew some tea, or something like that... do you like tea?"

"Ah, yeah," Envy nodded. "Black tea is fine." The three headed into the kitchen and Ed's father set down his briefcase in the corner. He picked up a small black kettle, filled it with tap water, and set it on the stove to boil.

_Would... would now be a good time?_ Edward thought, staring at Envy as if to send the message telepathically. The black-haired boy nodded, and they sat down at the table across from Hohenheim. Ed took a deep, calming breath, feeling Envy subtly grab his hand under the table where his father couldn't see.

_It'll be okay, Ed,_ Envy thought.

_I know. I'm just really, really nervous. More than ever before._

"So, uh... there's something important I need to talk to you about, Dad," the blonde began, his voice shaking a bit. Hohenheim looked at him curiously.

"And what would that be, Ed?" He asked, his voice as smooth as a river stone. Envy tightened his grip on the shorter boy's hand, giving him the reassurance he so needed.

"Well, I..." Suddenly, another inconvenient and incredibly loud ringtone sounded into the room, with its source being in Envy's pocket.

_**FUCK**__ PHONES,_ he thought angrily, taking out the irritating device and reading the caller ID.

[Call from: HELL]

_Oh, god..._ Envy's toes clenched as he stood up from the table.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this call," he apologized, glancing worriedly at Edward before leaving the room.

_Seriously, __**fuck phones.**_ _Always bringing bad news at the worst possible time._

The blonde reluctantly let his boyfriend go, and stared a few seconds at the doorway that he left through.

"Ed? You were going to say something?" Hohenheim inquired, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of his son's facial expression. Edward shook his head, clearing his mind and turning back to face his father.

"Uh... yeah," he mumbled, fiddling around with his braid between his fingers. "Um... gee, I don't know where to start..." Hohenheim continued to stare with soft eyes, coaxing Ed into going on.

"Well... do you remember when I was in, um... in elementary school? Or so?" The blonde-haired man nodded silently. "And remember how... every guy in the school liked Winry? Mainly because she was one of the only girls, but still..." Hohenheim chuckled.

"Yes, I remember."

"And, you know, I... I was the only one who didn't like her. I mean, I did as a friend, but I never thought of her as... anything more than that. And... I kinda still don't."

"Well, that's perfectly normal; you look at her as if she's a sister, and it'd feel strange for you to date her, right?" His father stated.

_God, this is so awkward, talking to him like this..._ Edward thought. _Can't stop now. Can't stop now. You have to go through with this, Edward Elric._

"But, the thing is..."

_Come on, you moron, just come out with it!_

"I don't... really feel that way towards any girls." Hohenheim executed a blank stare, his golden eyes slightly confused.

"Well, it's certainly possible that you aren't quite developed that way yet," the blonde-haired man said densely. "Everyone develops those kinds of feelings at different times."

_... I hope I'm not as dense as this man is,_ Ed thought, frowning a bit from such an idea.

"But, I _do_ have those feelings, Dad," the blonde-haired boy muttered, anxiously looking his father straight in the eye.

"They're... they're just directed towards guys."

As soon as he left, Envy rushed into the closest room he could and answered his phone call from his so-called "hell."

"Hello?"

"Envy?" A familiar female voice asked on the other end. "Where the hell _are_ you? Why didn't you come on the train?" Envy's face turned grim at the sound of his sister's voice.

"I'm staying at Ed's house over vacation," he mumbled, similar to the manner of a young boy who had just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. With his next sentence, however, his voice grew stronger. "And I'm not leaving for home now. I told you I wasn't going home, anyways."

"That was _months_ ago, I thought you could've gotten over yourself by now!" Lust scolded. "Why didn't you tell me that you were going to your..." she began to whisper. "... your freaking boyfriend's house? I tried calling your dorm room for the past hour with no answer!" Envy heard her sigh. "You scared the crap out of me."

"I'm _sorry_, okay?" The black-haired boy said. "But I'm still not going back there yet."

"Fine," Lust spat. "But at least talk to your little brother; he's a bit more hysterical than I am, if you can actually believe that someone in your family other than me actually gives a shit about you." He heard a bit of fumbling around with the phone, when another familiar voice appeared on the line.

"Envy?" Gluttony asked in his quiet little voice. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," the older brother responded guiltily. Man, phones _really _sucked. "Are you, uh... alright?" Gluttony sniffled a bit.

"Yeah, I'm alright," the pudgy boy responded. "Father is being nice to us for once. It's really weird." Envy's heart fell, for he knew exactly what shit was about to come to him.

"Oh... that's good." Envy immediately remembered his conversation with Alphonse, and spoke again. "Uh... I'm sorry, Gluttony," he said awkwardly.

There was a short pause, most likely because Gluttony was completely unused to his older brother apologizing.

"Just please come home so Father won't be mad anym-" All of a sudden, the black-haired boy heard a faint voice in the background on Gluttony's end of the phone call.

"Gluttony? Gluttony, who's on the phone?" The bald boy stayed silent, clutching the phone tightly in fear of the man in front of him. The voice in the background grew louder as it said. "I would like you to give me the phone, Gluttony." Envy held his breath, his heart pounding and his eyes growing wide.

_Oh god, no, oh god, no, oh god, no..._ The spiky-haired boy heard the tell-tale doomsday sign of the phone being handed over, sealing his fate for good. There was silence as the man referred to as Father glanced at the caller ID.

"Hello, there, Envy," came the deceitfully calm tone from the other end.

* * *

**P.S.: Yes, I know I'm evil for leaving it off like this. Please forgive me! ;A;**


	31. Chapter 30

**I AM BACK AND RARING TO GO! ^O^ Welcome back into the story of Do You Like Shakespeare?, written by yours truly, and based on a story by Hiromu Arakawa! The hiatus is officially over and now we come to the conclusion of Ed and Envy's confrontations with their fathers you've all been waiting for, lovely readers! Now, without further ado, I present to you, Chapter 30(!) ^V^**

* * *

-Chapter Thirty-

"Maybe you could tell me why you're not home right now," Envy's father said in monotone. The black-haired boy's heart stopped for a moment at the sound of his voice and his sweat beaded up with skin. "Well? Why didn't you come home on the train with your sister and brothers?"

"Ling is _not_ my brother," Envy spat nervously, noticing the plural his dad indicated.

"This is not the time to be arguing, Envy," the man said coolly. "Ling Yao is your brother and you will accept it."

"Should I accept that Greed is gone forever, too?" Envy started to shout, gaining confidence with anger.

"That is not relevant to this situation," Father stated, side-stepping Envy's provoking. "The situation is that you are going to get on the train and come home now. You did not have my permission to go spend it with somebody else."

"You don't even know who that somebody _is,_ bastard!" The violet-eyed boy dared to curse at his father, his anger growing at exponential rates. "Maybe I would be fucking _happier_ staying with somebody else!"

"Envy, you will come home right now," the man commanded. "I will not have such disobedience from my children in my house."

"... What, Edward?" Hohenheim asked, his pupils shrinking from confusion. "You have those feelings... for males?" The blonde son blushed deeply, hiding his face with his fists.

"Um..." he mumbled. "Y-Yes..." He dared to look the blonde-haired man in the eyes, but only found a blank stare. Hohenheim closed his eyes and slowly let out a breath, and Ed flinched from the horrible outcomes of this moment that appeared in his mind.

"And, just taking a wild guess..." the blonde-haired man said slowly. "Envy is your boyfriend?" Ed's heart thumped at Envy's name, and if his face could have turned more scarlet, it would have.

"... Yes, D-Dad," he mumbled again, looking away. Hohenheim let out another long breath, while his face stayed completely neutral.

"Ed, this may come as a shock, but I'm not angry at you." Edward's father smiled softly, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. The blonde-haired boy looked at him in complete disbelief, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Y-You're not?" He breathed.

"Well, I'm a bit _surprised_, but I'm not angry," Hohenheim coughed a bit. "But... I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me something as important as this, and even more so that you would bring your boyfriend home before even telling me who he was." He chuckled quietly. Ed continued to stare in bewilderment, the blush fading from his face.

"I... uh..." Edward stuttered.

"And you know, if Trisha were alive... she would have wanted you to be happy with whoever you wanted to be happy with, no matter what gender they were." A small smile crawled onto the blonde boy's face, his heart swelling with both relief, happiness and sadness.

"So... you're not going to go homophobe and send me to some Catholic asylum to 'fix' me, right?" The blonde-haired boy half-joked, eyeing his father anxiously. Hohenheim uttered a hearty laugh.

"What kind of monster does that mind of yours think I am?" He asked rhetorically. "No, I'm not that dense. But when your boy- your b-bo- your... Envy comes back, I'd like to have a reintroduction." Ed nodded slowly.

"Okay."

"And one more thing, Ed?" The blonde man asked.

"... Uh-huh?"

"Don't... don't do anything you'll regret," he said solemnly, his eyes telling Edward what he was remembering. Mustering up his sympathetic face, the son smiled.

"I won't." The kettle whistled, and Hohenheim got up from the table to pour tea; this allowed Ed to fully absorb the outcome of his coming-out.

_Thank. Fucking. God._ Was the only thing that crossed his mind, blocking out the increasingly loud speech that came from across the hall.

"Maybe if you actually **respected** us as fucking human beings, you wouldn't even **have** this problem!" Envy roared into the phone.

"You should already respect me and my wishes as it is," Father responded, his voice keeping steady. "You will come home **now**."

"What would _**Mom**_ say to you right now?" The black-haired boy screeched, bitter tears rushing to his eyes. The man on the other end paused, as if to allow Envy to think about what he just said.

"You know how your mother felt about you, Envy," he said coldly. "She _hat_-"

"Shut **UP! **Shut **UP** shut **UP** **SHUT UP!**" Envy cried. "Don't say that, you fucking bastard! She... she didn't...!" The boy trembled, choking on tears. "She didn't hate me!"

"Envy, you know in your heart that isn't true."

"It is! Mom fucking loved me before she died, I know th-"

"She _**hated**_ you, Envy."

"JUST **SHUT UP**, YOU MOTHERFUCKING JACKASS BASTARD!" The black-haired boy gasped for breath, rubbing his eyes raw in an attempt to smother his tears.

Ed's ears suddenly perked up, tuning in to the vulgar shouts that sounded like Envy's voice. His eyes darted to the kitchen door, then back at Hohenheim; the blonde-haired man's similarly golden eyes were directed onto the entryway as well.

"Da-" Edward began, but was interrupted by the man opposite him.

"I know."

"Envy, I order you to come home _now_," Father stated. "I won't tell you again."

"Fine, don't tell me again!" Envy yelled, his face bright red from pure fury. "That won't change the fact that I'm **not**, I repeat, _**NOT**_, coming home!" His father sighed heavily, a thing that he rarely did.

"I will make you come home, Envy, even if I have to drag you there myself, kicking and screaming."

"DON'T THREATEN ME, YOU FUCK!" The violet-eyed boy screamed. "**Maybe you shouldn't have sent me away in the **_**fucking **__**first place**_** if you wanted me to be home!**"

"Env-" At that moment, Hohenheim burst through the closed door (with Edward trailing behind him), grabbed the phone out of the tall boy's hands, and held it to his ear.

"Hello, I'm Van Hohenheim, Envy's friend's father. I'm assuming you're Envy's parent?" He waited for a response, as Ed stared at his boyfriend forlornly. The black-haired boy turned away, embarrassed that he was being seen in such a hysterical state. The blonde stepped towards him, pushing Envy's hands away from his face, and stroked his cheek tenderly.

"Envy..." Edward cooed. "It's... it's gonna be okay." The taller boy felt a tear slip down his cheek, and Ed wiped it away almost instantly. "You... you don't need to be afraid. You don't have to be... afraid to cry sometimes." He smiled sadly, his own eyes welling up with tears from the sight of his mortal distress. Envy hiccuped, reluctantly bending down to hug his little blonde boy.

"Ed, I lo..." the black-haired boy began, whispering. The shorter boy looked up at him questioningly.

"You what?" He asked. Envy's heart thumped from anxiety.

"I lo... Lo... loooo... forget it," he mumbled, hugging Edward tighter. Being as oblivious as he is, the blonde simply shrugged it off and continued to hold his boyfriend lovingly.

_Why am I so fucking awkward?_ Envy thought, the stress caused by his father already melting away at Ed's touch. Hohenheim, who was facing away from them, said a simple, "Alright then, goodbye," and shut the black-haired boy's phone. The two boys reflexively broke apart, shuffling awkwardly into place to face the blonde-haired man.

"Everything is alright, Envy," Hohenheim said, turning around and smiling gently. "You can stay here for break." No amount of happiness could have been compared to the amount Envy felt at that moment.

"Seriously?" He gasped, his red-rimmed eyes opened wide. The man nodded.

"Yes; but if you don't mind, please don't ask how I went about it," Hohenheim said mysteriously. The thought had not even crossed the black-haired boy's mind, he was so goddamn happy. Edward's father handed Envy his cellphone, and once again held out a hand for a handshake. Envy looked perplexed.

"Uh..." he muttered.

"I'm Van Hohenheim, Edward's father," Hohenheim said. "It's very nice to meet you, Envy Aligheri, my son's bo... boy... boyfriend." It would take a bit of getting used to, but it didn't matter to the blonde-haired man. The taller boy glanced back at Ed in surprise, and mouthed, _You told him?_

_Yeah_, the blonde boy grinned. _Take the hand!_ Envy did so, grinning from his good fortune to have such a wonderful boyfriend.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Elric. Mr. Hohenheim. Ed's dad," the black-haired boy stammered, raising a chuckle from the man opposite him.

"Hohenheim is fine," he said simply. "Treat my son well, alright?" Envy blushed, nodding frantically.

"Of course, of course, of course!" Edward laughed behind him, overjoyed that all was well in the Elric house. The two handshakers broke apart, and Envy awkwardly migrated back to his little blonde chibi; he wrapped an arm around Ed's waist, and Hohenheim looked away a bit embarrassedly. With a slight cough, he proposed,

"Now, how about that tea?"

The three walked back into the kitchen, with Envy and Edward sitting down at the table and Hohenheim steeping three cups of tea. The black-haired boy held Ed's hand tenderly under the table, staring straight into those golden eyes. Ed blushed, feeling the impact of his boyfriend's subtle seduction.

"So, uh..." he mumbled. "What kind of homework do you have over break?" Envy stared at him blankly, his mind slowly contemplating exactly what this so-called homework was.

"Oh, right. Homework," the taller boy said lamely. "Uh... for most of my classes it's the same as yours, but I have a massive English assignment on something or other..." He looked at Ed inquisitively. "Why do you ask?"

"Um... just trying to keep conversation?" The blonde responded in an equally lame fashion. "I dunno." Envy laughed nervously as Hohenheim set down the mugs of hot tea.

"Here you go," the man said quietly, seating himself across the table from the two lovebirds and picking up the day's newspaper to read.

_He's so... classic dad-like_, Envy mused, rubbing his hands on the warm cup before taking a sip of the dark liquid.

"You drink tea black?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise. "I thought you liked sweet stuff." The black-haired boy chuckled.

"Well yeah, but sometimes the pure taste can be, uh... nice, I guess," the taller boy said, hiding the fact that he was actually very repulsed by the drink as it was and was trying to be polite. Ed stared at him suspiciously, his eyes narrowing. Suddenly, he stood up from the table, dashed to and from the pantry faster than light, and began to pour a load of honey onto a large tablespoon. "Ed, what're you doing?"

"You're so lying," the blonde smirked. "Enjoy your tea the way you like it." Without further ado, he plopped the honey spoon into the mug and stirred for a while before handing it back to his boyfriend. "Anything else, palm tree?" A small vein popped out on Envy's temple out of slight annoyance.

"... Can I have some milk, too?" He teased, eyeing Edward mischievously. Ed loudly groaned, as the black-haired boy began to crack up.

"Get it _yourself_," the blonde ground out, sitting back down at the table and gulping down a bit of his tea. Envy suddenly wrapped his arms around the shorter boy's shoulders and pulled him close; he rubbed his cheek against the blonde in a manner similar to a feline.

"But I'm a _guest_, Ed!" Envy mock-whined, pouting cutely up at Edward.

"What are you, a cat?" The blonde-haired boy muttered, blushing a bit.

"Yes, and kitties need milk!" The black-haired boy continued to hold his boyfriend tightly. It was that moment that the two noticed that Hohenheim was staring at them amusedly, his mouth frowning but his eyes smiling. Edward blushed even deeper.

"... What, Dad?" He dared to ask. Hohenheim's face slowly softened.

"Just thinking," the man answered. "Thinking about how happy you must be." Ed was taken aback by the sudden statement, but not too taken aback since that day was pretty strange, after all.

"Hn..." the blonde boy mumbled, sipping his tea a bit more as Envy very subtly kissed the back of his neck and sat up straight to take a sip as well. With that, the table of three returned to silence.

_I'm happier than ever before, Hohenheim,_ Ed said internally. _More than you even thought I could be._


	32. Chapter 31

**Huzzah! The chapter is up! Sorry for the delay, I had another insanely long day, and another one ahead of me. But that's okay! Because I have you lovely chiblettes with your loveliness who lovingly read my love story -w- But either way, ~*THANK YOU FOR READING!*~ Please enjoy chapter 31! (long chapter!)**

* * *

-Chapter Thirty-One-(Tuesday, December 24th)

"Edward Elric..." Envy grumbled, skulking behind the blonde-haired boy as they walked down the icy cold road. Ed turned back to look at him, his braid whipping around in the wind.

"Yeah, Envy?" He asked.

"Tell me again, why the hell did you wake me up at such an ungodly hour and force me to go for a walk with you on this godforsakenly frigid day?" Edward snorted, gently grabbing his boyfriend's hand.

"We're going to Winry's house, remember? Alphonse left even earlier than us to get started," he said. "Do you even know what he got started _on_?"

"Why the hell should I know?" The black-haired boy questioned tiredly, squeezing Ed's hand.

"It's Christmas Eve, you palm tree," the blonde mused, daring to poke the rudely awakened tiger right in the ass. "We're helping Granny and Winry cook dinner all day today in preparation for tomorrow. I thought it would be kind of nice, you know, for us..." Envy dropped the palm tree comment at the sight of Edward's meek and adorable face, feeling his heart overflow with squee-ness. He cupped the shorter boy's cheeks and brought those ruddy lips to his, their own hot breath warming up each other's cold skin.

"You're so fucking cute that it's physically impossible for me to be mad at you, O'Chibi-san," the taller boy remarked, starting to walk again next to Edward. Ed smirked.

"Is that a challenge?" He joked, playfully nudging Envy in the ribs.

"Like hell it is."

About 10 or 15 minutes later, the two boys arrived at Winry and Pinako's house and were greeted by a sweet smell of maple syrup. Edward led Envy into the kitchen, where they found a grand stack of buttermilk pancakes waiting for them on the table. Pinako and Alphonse stood in the kitchen, with the former washing dishes and the latter mixing up a bowl of ingredients. They greeted Ed and Envy with a warm welcome.

"Good morning!" Al grinned, going over and hugging his older brother. Pinako turned around from the sink and gave a friendly wave.

"Welcome, boys," she said. "Come and eat, we made pancakes. Winry's still asleep from doing an all-nighter for who-knows-what." Envy's face immediately lit up at the invitation to devour the delicious-smelling breakfast, and eagerly sat down at the table to help himself. The grandmother laughed heartily at his enthusiasm. "My, my, you would think that no one ever feeds you, boy. It would explain that skinny frame of yours." The two blondes chuckled along with her, and soon enough Envy started laughing as well. The day before, when he first met Grandma Pinako, he was thrown off if not a bit irritated by her behavior; but as time went on, he realized that she was just a kidder and didn't mean any harm. Of course, this realization was quite heavily influenced by the fact that it was in his best interest to not appear as a total asshole to those close to his boyfriend.

"It smells delicious," Envy said politely, taking a fork and knife in each hand and piling the griddle cakes onto his plate. Ed followed suit, sitting down next to the black-haired boy and thanking Pinako for the meal.

"Thanks for the meal, Granny," he said kindly.

"No problem, shrimp," the old woman teased.

"Who're you calling a pint-sized grub, you old _bat_?" Edward yelled angrily, slamming his fists down on the table and upsetting his fork, which then flipped off the table and stabbed straight into his toe. "**OW!** Fuc-fudge..." The blonde held his foot tenderly, quietly cursing the utensil into oblivion while Envy chuckled quietly.

"The fork begs to differ, you little midget," Pinako dared to pick on him again as she shook the water out of her dish-drying rag.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MIDGET, YOU TINY DWARFISH HALF-PINT?" Ed screeched again, his eyes wide with infuriation at being called short not once, but twice by the even shorter woman.

"You microscopic, puny, miniature excuse for a teenage boy!" Pinako yelled back; Envy could no longer hold back his laughter and burst out in peals of it, choking a bit on his pancake.

"**STOP CALLING ME SHORT!**" The blonde shouted, stomping up to the grey-haired woman and sizing her up.

"I'm only stating the facts, Ed; maybe if you drank some _milk_ you wouldn't be so _short_."

"AARGH!"

"Guys, cut it out already!" Alphonse piped up from his mixing bowl. "Gosh, every time you come over, Ed, you start an insult fight with Granny!"

"She started it!" The older blonde said childishly.

"You're acting as little as you look," Pinako remarked devilishly; Al sighed as if he was a father scolding his kids.

"It's Christmas Eve, can you just stop fighting like that for once?" He asked. Edward and Pinako stared blankly for a moment, but then looked at each other and grinned.

"It's all in good fun, right, Ed?" The old woman asked mischievously.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Granny," Edward answered. He looked back at his boyfriend, who had not said much in the past few minutes. A warm smile was spread across his face. "What's up with you, Envy?" Envy blinked and looked at Ed, still smiling and with a bit of pancake stuck on his fork.

"It's fun to see how you are at home," he remarked, making the blonde blush. "And it's cute to see you react so ridiculously to being called short."

"I'm _not_ being ridiculous," Ed mumbled, sitting back down at his seat.

"Yes, you are," came the three other voices in the room as an answer. As Edward began to say something, Winry appeared in the kitchen doorway, still wearing her t-shirt and pajama pants.

"Good morning, Winry!" Alphonse greeted cheerfully, putting down what he was doing to hug her.

"Mornin'," the blonde girl murmured sleepily. "Geez, how can I possibly sleep late with you two screaming at the top of your lungs?" She rhetorically asked, indicating Pinako and Edward. They both grinned at her good-naturedly.

"Buy some ear plugs?" Ed asked, causing Winry to produce a book from thin air and smack him on the head with it. "Ow! Goddammit, Winry!"

"Just because your _boyfriend's_ around, doesn't mean I'll hold back on you," she teased, sitting down at the kitchen table, grabbing a fork and stabbing it into one of the pancakes. Edward headdesked onto his empty plate.

"It seems like you're all teasing me even _more_ than usual just _because_ he's here," the blonde groaned.

"Yes, that's exactly it, Ed," the blonde-haired girl responded sarcastically. She turned to the black-haired boy, smiling a bit awkwardly. "So, what's your impression of our ridiculous family?" Envy paused to respond, for his mouth was full of pancake and syrup. As he gulped it down, he grinned and said,

"It's helluva lot better than spending it with _my_ family."

After Winry, Ed, and Envy finished their breakfasts, they joined Pinako and Alphonse in the big preparations for the Christmas feast.

"So, I know Edward is somewhat helpful in making food, but what about you?" The old woman asked Envy, looking at him through her round glasses.

"Well, I can cook some stuff..." the black-haired boy said, his voice small but soon teeming with confidence. "I can make some really good cookies, cupcakes and brownies, and my clam chowder is kind of really awesome..." Pinako laughed, setting down various ingredients on the kitchen table and counters.

"Then you and Ed can work on those things while us three work on other dishes," she said warmly, gesturing towards herself and the two blondes behind her. "Do you need any ingredients that aren't here already?" Envy examined the various foods, checking off a list in his mind of what his memorized recipes would require.

"Just a few things..." he said. Pinako nodded, and handed the blonde boy next to him a sum of money.

"You know where the market is; go take a walk with Envy and get the ingredients," the old woman instructed. Ed nodded, gently taking the black-haired boy's hand and leading him out of the kitchen.

"Bye, Granny!" He shouted behind him, grabbing both his and Envy's coats and leaving the house.

Not three seconds after closing the front door, the taller boy stole a kiss from the blonde-haired boy. Ed blushed, tenderly wrapping his arms around Envy's waist.

"It's cold today, isn't it?" Edward mumbled, resting his head on his boyfriend's chest. Envy smirked, rubbing the back of the shorter boy's neck.

"A little bit," he said. "Nothing that I can't handle with you by my side." The blonde blushed at the black-haired boy's sweet words. But suddenly, his mind began to wander into the plan he had concocted as a Christmas gift to Envy. His face turned an even deeper shade of red.

_Oh, god..._ Ed thought nervously, his thoughts running so wild that he couldn't even look at the black-haired boy as they began their walk down the road. _It'd gonna be mortifying... But Envy wouldn't laugh, would he?_ His heart palpitated at the thought. _Oh, god, I hope he doesn't. It would be horrible. I would never hear the end of it. Oh god oh god oh god..._ Realizing how flustered he was getting, Edward slowly breathed in and out. _Okay, calm down, Ed. This... this is the best plan in the universe. Lust said that Envy is a sucker for the romantic-y stuff. You have the poem memorized, too. It'll be okay, it'll be okay, it'll be fine... You'll wake him up or stay up with him until midnight, then excuse yourself to the bathroom and then come back out in..._ He was blushing so much he couldn't even think it. _You can do this, Edward Elric._

The silence between the two allowed Envy to also partake in a visit to _his_ plan within his own mind.

_I can't take this much longer,_ the black-haired boy thought. _I have to execute my ultimate and super-fabtastical plan of undying love confession tonight, no excuses. That blonde chibi is making me crazy._ He glanced over at the boy in question, cheeks dyed a faint carnation. _God, do I love him. He better love me back, or else I'm gonna be one humiliated bastard._

The two boys soon arrived at the market and retrieved the ingredients for Envy's "world-famous clam chowder," with a few gallons of milk being among them, to Edward's disgust. They traveled back to Winry's house in equal silence to when they traveled away from it. Upon opening the front door, they discovered that the three at home had completely "decked the halls."

"Wow!" Edward exclaimed, checking out each room as he passed by. He saw Alphonse, and continued, "The house looks great. Why don't you do the same around _our_ house?" The two blondes laughed heartily.

"Here, I'll help you guys bring this into the kitchen," Al suggested, reaching for some of the heavier bags in Envy's arms. The black-haired boy side-stepped the advance, smirking with a bit of vanity.

"I can handle it," he said. "Just because I'm skinny doesn't mean I'm not strong." The younger blonde looked at him a bit defensively, but Ed simply placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Al, he's just being a _show-off_," he said provocatively. Envy stomped his foot on the ground irritatedly, for his hands were too full to smack Edward on the arm.

"Shut up, shrimp," he teased back, walking towards the kitchen door.

"I'm not a shrimp, you palm tree," Ed growled, walking towards the kitchen door with him. Alphonse stood behind them, inwardly questioning whether his brother and Envy actually loved each other. Suddenly, their bickering was halted when both their eyes shot up to the doorframe, where a sprig of mistletoe was delicately hung up by a nail. The black-haired boy gently set his groceries down, cupped the blonde's cheek, and kissed him endearingly as if no one else was around. Alphonse's insecurity immediately gave way to happiness for his older brother, who obviously was very much enjoying the lip lock with Envy.

"OI! Quit making out in the doorway and get cooking!" Winry said, breaking the two apart with her sudden and loud call.

"W-W-We're not making out!" Ed stammered, grabbing his grocery bags and almost tossing them onto the table. Alphonse quietly giggled at the older blonde's flushed reaction. Envy frowned at Winry, setting his groceries on the table as well. He noticed that Pinako wasn't in the kitchen, so his perverted and devious side dared to respond to the blonde girl.

"Quit being a cock block and _get laid,_" he answered evilly; Winry looked at him in complete shock.

"What did you say?" She asked threateningly. _Shit,_ Envy thought. _Why the fuck did I just say that?_

"Shit, I'm didn't mean that. I seriously didn't," he tried to reassure her frantically. "I take it back, I... fuck, I'm sorry." _Do you realize how __**bad**__ it would be if your boyfriends friends thought you were an __**asshole**__?_ The black-haired boy scolded himself. _Fuuuuuuuuck..._

"... Hm," was all Winry said before turning around again and continued to knead the dough on her cutting board. Silence fell upon the room.

"Are you okay, Winry?" Al asked worriedly, going over to the blonde girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered blankly.

_No, you're not,_ Envy thought, beating himself up for his blatant idiocy.

"Are you sure?" The younger blonde asked again. Winry looked back at him, a faint smile on her face.

"I'm just thinking about how I'm going to take revenge on that _palm tree_ over there," she said cunningly, her smile turning into a dark smirk that she aimed at Envy.

"Like hell you'll do that," the black-haired boy responded, grabbing Edward by the shoulders, pulling him in front of him, and crouching down to fit behind him. "Do your worst, I have a shrimp to protect me!"

"I'M NOT A SHRIMP!" Ed shouted, squirming out of the taller boy's grasp. "Take your beating like a man!"

"Says you! I'm baking _cookies_!" Envy said in return, using his chores to his advantage.

"Then go bake 'em and quit quarreling with everyone!" Came the voice of Pinako, who just showed up in the doorway with a pile of goods from the pantry. "My, my, it's getting quite crowded in this little kitchen of mine."

Shutting up due to a sneaky peck on the lips from a certain blonde chibi ("Be nice now, I'll be nice later," Edward said), Envy set up his ingredients to start making his fabtastical clam chowder. His boyfriend sidled up next to him, examining the things he set out.

"What's up, Ed?" The black-haired boy asked.

"I dunno, maybe I could help you a bit... maybe?" Edward awkwardly asked, shuffling his foot across the floor. Envy smiled.

"Sure. Here, take this bacon and start frying it," he said, handing the shorter boy a pack of said bacon.

"You're putting bacon into your cookies?" Ed asked ridiculously, causing the taller boy to burst out in laughter.

"No, you goof! We're making the chowder first!" Envy clarified, making the blonde blush deeply. "Now go get the stove fired up."

A few minutes later, the kitchen was filled with the warm smell of frying bacon. Edward watched the meat with a careful eye, making sure that he would do nothing wrong that would mess up Envy's chowder. Said Envy stood next to him, stirring around a hunk of butter and various vegetables in a saucepan.

"Is there anything else I could do afterwards?" The blonde asked, glancing up from his frying pan for just a second to look at the boy next to him.

"Well, from here on it's just straining the clams, chopping up the bacon, and..." the black-haired boy paused for dramatic effect. "... adding the _milk_."

"Blegh! The more you say that this has milk in it makes me even more hesitant to eat it!" Ed repulsed. Envy playfully tugged at his braid, irritating him even more.

"But you'll still eat it, right?" He asked sweetly, tilting his head in front of the shorter boy in a very cute fashion. "Please?" Edward blushed, shifting his head to the side so he could still focus on his cooking; of course, that proved futile when the taller boy started to kiss him at every chance he got.

"_En_vy!" Ed exclaimed, half-exasperated and half-embarrassed. "Do you _want_ me to burn this?"

"I want to burn _you,_" the black-haired boy whispered into his ear.

"That doesn't even make sense."

"I'll _make_ it make sense."

"Stop seducing me!" The blonde whispered as loud as he could, blushing from the (dangerously) flirtatious look on Envy's face.

"I'm not seducing you," he purred.

"You kind of are!"

"Are what?"

"Seducing me!"

"Seducing who?"

"ME!"

"What about you?"

"For the _love_ of god, Envy..." Edward gave in and started to passionately but sneakily snog the boy who leaned in front of him, flicking his tongue in and out of his opposite's mouth and raising a quiet moan from Envy's throat. He broke away, blushing but smirking mischievously. "There, happy?"

"The bacon's burning," the black-haired boy stated casually, stepping out of the way as Ed frantically handled the blackening meat.

"AGH! ENVY!" The blonde shouted, immediately pulling the pan off the stove and slamming it down onto the counter. He turned off the flame, glaring at his boyfriend.

"What's up? You're always so calm if something goes bad in Chem," Envy remarked, acting as if the boy in front of him had not just angrily slammed a hot frying pan onto a marble surface. Ed continued to glare at him.

"That was _your_ fault," the shorter boy mumbled childishly. "Here I was trying to make the bacon perfect for your fabtastical chowder and now it's burned because _YOU_ had to distract me with your super attractiveness and seductive voice and perfect lips and beautiful eyes and every fucking thing about you." As soon as he finished his words, both the boyfriends were completely taken aback by them.

_Hell, how did that come pouring out of my mouth?_ Edward thought, embarrassed.

_Hell, did he really just say all of that?_ Envy thought, also embarrassed but incredibly flattered.

"I mean, I, umm..." the blonde-haired boy stammered, soon being cut off by another kiss from Envy.

"You're too adorable for words, O'Chibi-san," he said sweetly, brushing a stray blonde hair back into place. "Don't worry about the bacon, it's... whatever. Just continue going about your business and we'll be done and it'll taste even more fabtastical than I say it is. Cool?" Edward nodded, smiling softly up at the taller boy.

"Cool," he said, returning to the bacon, placing the strips onto a cutting board, and carefully chopping them up into less-than bite-sized pieces.

After a few hours, Edward and Envy had finished not only the clam chowder but the cookies and cupcakes, too, and now they were finally cleaning up the mess they made from making the brownies (which happened to have just been popped into the oven).

"Alright, so the flour, sugar, and salt can go into the pantry, the m-milk, butter, heavy cream and extra chocolate goes into the fridge, and..." As he rambled off the list of where things went, Ed stopped and glanced over at his star-struck boyfriend. "Are you listening to anything I'm saying?"

"Not a word, Ed," Envy said nonchalantly, circumnavigating the table and edging close to the blonde-haired boy. "You have a little something on your cheek there." He pointed, but before Edward could wipe it away, the taller boy bent down and licked it right off his face. "Mm, chocolate~!"

"That was ridiculous, E-Envy..." Ed blushed, his heart secretly yearning for more.

"You know you liked it. And you have another smudge right..." the black-haired boy leaned into the shorter boy's neck. "...here," he finished, delicately lapping at the chocolate, completely disregarding the fact that he could be (and was) seen by Alphonse, Winry and Pinako.

"Ah! E-Envy!" Edward gasped, trying to pull Envy off his neck but to no avail. "Envy!"

"And you have a _really big_ smudge..." the taller boy purred, pointing at the blonde's bottom lip as he moved up to it. "... right here." Their lips tenderly met, and Ed could faintly hear a huge fangirl squee in the back of his head.

_Sometimes I wonder... where does Envy get all his material from?_ Edward pondered, making a mental list of both possibilities and improbabilities. _Can't be just from his mind, right? Maybe he's into romance novels? Hehehehe..._ They reluctantly broke apart once again, giving the shorter boy an opportunity to voice his internal questions.

"Now tell me, where do you get all your mushy-romantic material?" He asked, smirking up at Envy.

"U-Uh..." Envy muttered, a rare blush rising to his cheeks. "N-Nowhere in particular..."

"Oh yeah? Maybe I would like to know," Edward said, activating his own seductive charm. "Well?"

"I said nowhere, shrimp," the black-haired boy retorted defensively. "Stop asking..."

"Geez, I was just _curious_," the blonde stressed, sending a small pang of guilt into Envy.

"You don't need to know about it..." Envy said, his voice becoming smaller and smaller; the shorter boy took this as another opening into his boyfriend's mind.

"Why not?"

"B-B-Because I said so."

"But _why?_"

"Because it's a bit _**embarrassing**_...! Aargh..." Envy grumbled off, taking a few left over ingredients with him to stock away in the pantry. Ed giggled, a rare thing for him, and sighed wistfully.

_Oh, yeah, he's into romance novels._


	33. Chapter 32

-Chapter Thirty-Two-(That night)

When all was said and done, Christmas dinner was finished spectacularly and stored away for the next day. Grandma Pinako treated everyone, including Hohenheim, after he was done with work, to a delicious home-cooked dinner and a great dessert of apple pie for their efforts. Now the Elrics and Envy were back at their house, getting ready to sleep until Christmas morning. Alphonse had already retired, as he was excited to move on into the next day and open the presents that he was sure Hohenheim got him. The gay couple stood on the balcony that stuck out of the back of the Elrics' house, a bit chilly but glad to have some alone time together all the same. Edward looked back into the house; judging by the clock he laid his eyes on, it was 11:38PM, and he should get started on his Christmas present for the black-haired boy.

_Now, how will I go about this...?_ Ed thought, blushing. _Should I just say I'm getting his gift, or...?_

At the same time, Envy was adding the final touches to his own master plan.

_I'll just say I'm going to the bathroom, grab the gifts and voila, I come back and say it..._ he thought, checking the time as well. _About five minutes before midnight I'll go, and the-_

"Hey, Envy?" Edward called, nudging the taller boy. "I'm gonna, uh, go grab a little midnight snack. I'll be right back, okay?" Not thinking much of it, Envy nodded.

"Whatever. Bring me back something?" He asked, as the blonde started to walk away. Without looking back at Envy, an embarrassed but mischievous grin spread across Ed's face.

"Sure, will do," he said, walking back into the house and shutting the balcony door behind him.

"God, I hope Hohenheim is asleep by now," Edward whispered, tip-toeing into his room and edging around the darker side of his bed. "I'm lucky enough to not have him kill me over being gay, but _this_ would be absolutely _mortifying_ if he ever caught me..." He shivered at the thought, taking out a huge plastic shopping bag from his suitcase. "How did I even _hide_ this?" Ever so quietly, so as to not wake anyone up, the blonde-haired boy removed the mystery gift from the bag and prepared himself for what would probably be both the most embarrassing yet romantic moment of his life.

"How long does it take for him to get a little snack?" Envy said anxiously, glancing back at the clock that now read 11:49PM. "This is gonna fuck up everything... aargh, why can't things just go out like I dream them to be?" After a few moments of deep thinking, the black-haired boy decided he would venture into the house and grab the gifts from his (or, Ed's) room and return back onto the balcony without a word with them, prepared to confess his love when his little blonde boy returned. He closed the door behind him, quietly stepping through the house; unfortunately, as he neared Edward's bedroom, the black-haired boy tripped over his own feet and fell with a loud "thump!" to the floor.

_What the hell was that? _Ed thought in panic, hearing the thump outside his door. _It can't be Envy, can it? _He heard a small mewl of pain, informing him that it was indeed Envy. _SHIT! I gotta hide, I gotta hide!_ He quickly grabbed his shed clothes and plastic bag off his bed and threw them into a dark corner, then scrambled to the floor and under his bed as fast as he could. _OW! Goddammit!_ He thought, for he had accidentally hit his head on the bed frame.

"There goes my stealth down the fucking drain," Envy mumbled in pain, getting up off the floor and nervously glancing downstairs. "I hope the shrimp didn't hear me..." His hands fumbled for the doorknob, silently clicking it open. Edward, inside, held his breath.

The door swung wide, as the black-haired boy crept into the room like a ghost. His violet eyes grew in the darkness, trying to get their bearings and find the suitcase where the gifts for Edward lay.

_FUCK_, Ed thought, biting his lip as he tried not to move a millimeter. _Oh, fuck, I hope he doesn't see me..._

Envy kneeled down on the floor, sliding his suitcase over to him and opening it. His hands searched in the darkness for the gifts, and upon finding them he set them next to him and put the suitcase back in its place. Edward watched silently, wondering what his boyfriend was doing.

_Are those for me?_ He thought excitedly, his eyes lighting up like he was a child who was spying on Santa Claus. The taller boy took several of the presents in each arm and slowly stood, making his way over to the door. Then, as quietly as he had opened it, Envy closed the door behind him.

"Holy _fuck_," Edward whispered, letting out the breath he held for so long. "That was so close, it's not even funny." He crawled out from under the bed and straightened up, smoothing out the garment he wore. "I need to finish this _now._ There's no time to lose."

Envy speedily made his way back to the balcony, almost bouncing in excitement and nervousness. _It's 11:57,_ he thought, setting the gifts on the balcony floor next to him and leaning on the railing. _Almost time... c'mon, Ed, come out soon..._

The blonde-haired boy silently picked up the box of fantastic sweets in his hands, stumbling a bit in the strange shoes he wore. _I hope I don't sprain my ankle wearing these..._ he thought, carefully opening his door and walking out into the hallway. _Should I grab a jacket..._? Ed shook his head, a small romantic scenario popping into his mind.

_...Nah, I'll be good._ Upon reaching the closed balcony door, Edward paused to let his heart settle a bit; at this point, it threatened to pound right out of his chest. His face flushed, and his nails clenched into his palms. _You can do this, Edward Elric. You can do this._ He reluctantly opened the door, and stepped out into the moonlight for Envy to see.

And see he did. The blonde was dressed in the very gown the two spotted in the gothic lolita shop, the same gown that Envy fantasized about Edward being in. Its bright red color was beautifully luminescent, yet it was perfectly harmonious with the deep black trim. The skirt was made up of elaborate scarlet ruffles trimmed with gold and black ribbon that fell all the way to the boy's feet, and the corset was decorated with black rose petal designs and had more gold ribbons decorate the cross strings. A small red and black choker with a gold rose button surrounded Ed's neck, which was accompanied by an adorable and ruffled red and black hat from which a golden mesh veil hung from, shimmering in the moonlight. Finally, a large black bow was tied along Edward's back, giving a completed look of absolute gorgeousness.

Without him realizing, Envy's jaw dropped halfway to the floor, and the clock struck 12 midnight.

"Holy shi-" the black-haired boy began, but Ed cut him off as he began to speak.

"_O, mine glorious lover,_

_How doth your ebony tendrils whisk through the wind_

_As thou laugh and bear thy teeth widely._

_What hath thee done to me?_

_Thou hath charmed me into a universe beyond thy own,_

_Thou hath made my heart swarmeth into fits of passion,_

_Thou hath lovèd me, thou hath brought light into my eyes._

_What magick is this lover under?_

_All the times thou hath blushèd,_

_All the times thou hath been angered,_

_All the times thou hath laughèd,_

_Hath cried, hath beggèd myself to stay,_

_Thou hath lovèd me, thou hath brought light into my heart._

_Thy indigo eyes doth shone in sunlight,_

_Thy palest yet strongest arms doth wrap around my waist,_

_Thou makest my heart pound, thou makest my mind soar,_

_Thou hath lovèd me, thou hath brought light into my soul._

_Now, thou must know _

_How much I loveth thee,_

_How much I wish to be the flame of thee,_

_How much thou meanst to me,_

_For thou, my lover, art my angel, my most treasured gift,_

_My universe, my all,_

_Thou hath lovèd me, thou hath brought light into my life."_

Edward finished, his face as bright red as the dress he wore; he walked forward, the elegant red gown rustling with every step he took, and looked Envy straight in the eye. The heels the blonde wore for height's sake allowed him to gently lean in and, brushing back a stray black lock of hair from Envy's face, kiss the stunned boy on the lips.

"Merry Christmas, Envy," the blonde said sweetly. "I lov-"

Before he could finish, the black-haired boy violently pushed him backwards with his face so crimson that one could guess that all the blood in his body was currently in his cheeks.

"DON'T YOU SAY A FUCKING WORD!" Envy shouted, completely flipping out from embarrassment. Ed desperately tried to remain upright on the high heels, staggering dizzily everywhere to try and regain his balance.

"What the **HELL**, ENVY?" He shouted back angrily, stomping a foot into the ground. "What the FUCK was _THAT_ for?"

"YOU ARE _**NOT,**_ I repeat, _**NOT**__** ALLOWED TO SAY IT BEFORE ME!**_" Envy yelled, blushing and shaking like mad. He stumbled over to Ed, grabbed his hand, and held it against his chest. "L-Look, I know I'm looking like a complete moronic asshole right now, but the thing is..." The taller boy swallowed, trying to keep his pounding heart under control.

"Edward Elric, I love you. I really fucking love you. More than anything. I mean, ever. I love you, and I probably have since before we even started dating. Ed... I just really love you and I've wanted to say it for so long but I couldn't, but I'm saying it now and goddammit why am I crying?" Joyous tears spilled down Envy's cheeks, wetting his face in the cold winter air. "Ed, I love you. I love you so much. I have no idea... what I could have done to deserve you... but for the love of fucking god, I am seeing you now, in the most fucking adorable and gorgeous dress imaginable, and you just recited one of the most fucking fabtastical poems I've ever heard and are holding a gigantic box of fucking awesome shit for me and I motherfucking love you to death. I love your blonde braid, I love your golden eyes, I love how you get all angry when I call you short, I love how you're just so goddamn cute, I love your laugh and I love how you of all people could deal with me and my ridiculous personality, I love your smile, your frown, your fucking awesome self and most of all I love that you are waiting for me to be fucking done so you could say you love me too. Okay?" The blonde-haired boy looked shocked at first, but soon smiled and gently wiped the tears off of the black-haired boy's face.

"I love you, too, Envy," he said, grinning. "You said it first, okay? Don't cry, and..." A warm flush rose upon his cheeks. "And kiss me, you palm tree." The black-haired boy looked straight into the eyes of the beloved boy in front of him, and without warning kissed him more passionately and lovingly than ever before. All that ran through his mind was, _Oh god, do I fucking love you, Ed._ They stayed like that for the longest time, not feeling the frigid air on their skin for one moment, not caring about who saw, just kissing each other like they would never see each other again.

"So, um..." Ed mumbled, fidgeting around with his dress and holding out the big red box to Envy. "You wanna open your present?" The black-haired boy smirked, not taking the gift yet.

"Haven't I already opened something up?" He asked, rubbing a finger on the blonde's red cheek.

"Just take it. Merry Christmas." Edward pushed the box forward again, and Envy happily took it into his hands. He delicately untied the red bow, building up tension for dramatic effect. He opened the box ever-so-slowly, and audibly gasped when he saw what was inside.

"Holy crap, Ed!" He exclaimed, taking in a deep whiff of the chocolaty goodness. "This is a... a total fudge-ton of stuff! Holy shit!" The taller boy picked up a sweet with his long, thin fingers and held it up. "What's this?"

"It's a... chocolate-covered marshmallow," Edward mumbled, recalling all the sweets he had put into the goodie box. In response, Envy immediately popped it into his mouth and chewed.

"This tastes like magical rainbows, it's not even funny," he complimented, smiling. "What else is in here?" Ed blushed, stretching his memory more for a full recall.

"Well... there's dark and white chocolate-covered strawberries, cherry cordials, strawberry and chocolate fudge, chocolate-covered marshmallows, chocolate-covered potato chips..."

"Potato chips? Seriously?" Envy asked, his eyes lusting after the delicious idea.

"Yeah, potato chips, and chewy fruit slices, salty chocolate-covered caramels, a whole bunch of assorted truffles with nuts and fruit cremes in them, and..." Edward blushed again at his very last thought. "And finally, chocolate kisses." Envy's violet eyes traveled back down into the box, soon plucking out a said chocolate kiss. He unwrapped the foil, popped the chocolate into his mouth, then leaned in and kissed the blonde-haired boy.

"Agh! What th-" Ed started, as their french kiss began and his boyfriend slipped the chocolate into his mouth. Envy moved away, looking satisfied with his deed.

"Now it's _really_ a chocolate kiss~!" He purred, grinning mischievously.

"You never seem to fail at making me blush, do you?" The blonde asked, licking his lips clean of chocolate; the black-haired boy chuckled.

"Apparently not," he said. "Come over here, cutie, I wanna show you what I got you!" Envy grabbed the dress-cladden boy's hand gently and led him over to his gifts, treating him as if he were a delicate flower. The black-haired boy lifted up the presents into Edward's arms, grinning like there was no tomorrow.

"You wanna open them here, or...?" He asked, gesturing towards the balcony door. Ed nodded, smiling softly.

"How about we go into my room? It's kinda cold out here... in, uh, this..." the shorter boy said, gesturing down to the gown he wore. Envy nodded back. Suddenly, he swerved around Edward, circling his arms, and swept the boy up into his arms, bridal-style, gifts and all.

"W-Whoa! Holy hell, Envy!" Ed exclaimed nervously, clutching the gifts in his arms. "Are you okay? Aren't I heavy, with all these presents and the dress an-"

"I will do _anything_ for milady Edward," Envy purred into Edward's ear, his warm breath tickling the boy's cheek.

"I'm _not_ a girl," the blonde muttered stubbornly.

"Just shut up and let me carry you to your bed, cutie," the black-haired boy responded, walking towards the door and precariously opening the knob with his foot. The shorter boy followed Envy's orders, snuggling his head into the boy's chest.

"D-Don't drop me..." he mumbled.

"I promise I won't," Envy whispered, gently kissing the blonde on the cheek.

They arrived at Edward's room and Envy tenderly laid the blonde down onto his bed, setting the various packages on the pillow next to him. As Ed lay there, the black-haired boy took in the entire sight of him in the glorious red and black dress he was wearing.

"W-What is it?" Ed asked nervously, put off by Envy's interested gaze.

"God, Ed..." the taller boy mumbled. "You're... beautiful."

"I'm _not a gi-_"

"I didn't say you were; I said you were beautiful," Envy purred, ruffling the red skirt a bit. He then pulled the blonde's legs over the side of the bed, sitting him up straight, and gently undid the strap on the boy's high heels. "I still can't believe that you actually wore heels with this, though," he snickered, and Edward batted him on the head.

"Shut up..." he mumbled, red-faced. "It's... it's all for you, Envy." The boy's violet eyes glittered, full of energy and excitement and happiness.

"And boy, am I gonna enjoy this gift," was the last thing the black-haired boy said before he cast the shoes asides and passionately french kissed his little blonde boy. Envy gradually made his way onto the bed, holding down Ed by his bare shoulders and darting his tongue in and out of the shorter boy's mouth.

"Ah... oh my god..." Edward breathed as the taller boy undid his ribbon choker and started to lick at the flesh beneath it. He wrapped his arms around Envy's thin waist, holding him close and letting him explore his body. Envy teasingly nipped at the thin skin, leaving faint red marks in a ring around Edward's neck. But suddenly, the tables turned when Ed pushed up against the black-haired boy, flipping him onto his back and unintentionally toppling over all the gifts onto the floor. However, the two boys were so into their make-out session that they hardly even noticed.

"Dominant little girl, aren't we?" Envy said sultrily, subtly lifting the edge of his shirt up. "Nnn?"

"For the last time," Edward sighed, removing his hat and discreetly loosening the restraints of the corset. "I'm not a girl." The black-haired boy beneath him sat up, with Ed shifting into his lap, and brought his hands around the blonde's back, meeting hands and undoing the corset fastenings.

"Let me help you with that," the taller boy said, opening the bodice and exposing Edward's bare chest; the owner of it blushed.

"This is... kinda getting uncomfortable in the dress..." he mumbled, twirling his braid between his fingers. "Can I maybe... get into something, um... better?" His golden eyes turned away as his face turned scarlet in the light of the moon, sending a pang of love into Envy's heart. The black-haired boy whispered into his ear,

"As long as you keep your shirt off, shrimp."

Not a few seconds later, Ed was wearing only pajama pants and Envy was bare-chested as well; this time, though, Edward suppressed his nosebleed. No, it was getting a bit too hot for that. The two reset themselves on the bed, but now the blonde crouched over the black-haired boy.

"Just... tell me what you like, ok-"

"I like _you_, Ed," Envy interrupted flirtatiously, crossing his arms behind his head so his entire abdomen was fully exposed. "Take me away to magical Christmas land." The shorter boy couldn't hold back a chuckle at that.

"O-Okay," he mumbled, leaning down into Envy with a kiss and initiating what would be an incredibly passionate and loving experience.

"Mm... ahmmm..." came a quiet moan from the black-haired boy as Edward's reluctant fingers rubbed on his small pink nub of flesh. He took the nipple between his fingers and rolled it, kissing Envy deeply and bringing on more lovely moans from the taller boy's throat. "Holy... shit, Ed..." Soon, Envy's long thin fingers found their way on Edward's chest, lightly pinching the shorter boy's nipples and sending an overwhelmingly good sensation into the blonde-haired boy.

"Ah!" Ed gasped, causing him to intensify their kiss and rub Envy's body up and down. The violet-eyed boy brought himself back into a sitting position as the blonde wrapped his legs around his hips, bringing their chests as close as what could be possible; yet for them, it could never be enough.

"Edward..." the black-haired boy breathed, bringing the boy to attention; Ed nodded in acknowledgment. "I love you so much." Envy hugged Edward tightly, tucking his chin onto the blonde's shoulder.

"I love you, too, Envy," the shorter boy responded, smiling warmly and hugging back.

"Say, uh, what time is it, do you think?" Envy asked, not bothering to glance around for the clock.

"I'd say, at this point, around 1AM," Ed hypothesized, not breaking his gaze with the boy opposite him.

"We should probably get to sleep soon, shouldn't we?"

"Perhaps." They stared at each other silently for a moment, until the taller boy pulled Edward down next to him and shifted the blankets to cover all but their heads.

"God, I love you, Ed," Envy repeated, cutely kissing the blonde on the forehead.

"I-I love you, too, Envy," Edward said, blushing.

"I love you so much." The black-haired boy said a third time.

"I love you too."

"I love you. So. Much."

"And I love you, too, Env-"

"I." The spiky-haired boy kissed him on the nose. "Love." Then on the cheek. "You." Finally, he kissed him on the lips, tenderly holding the blonde by the waist.

"... goodnight, Envy," Ed smiled adorably, nuzzling his head into the taller boy's chest.

"Nighty-night, O'Chibi-san. Merry Christmas."


	34. Chapter 33

**Hey, my lovely readers! ^_^ I've been having a bit of trouble handling my work and all in the past few weeks, but in the end, I love to write this story because so many people like it and I'm really happy to be able to write every day. Thanks for reading, and now I present you chapter 33! **

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-Chapter Thirty-Three-(Christmas Day/ Later that morning)

"Ahhhhh~!" Envy yawned, stretching his arms and opening his mouth wide. "I feel super refreshed." He rubbed his slightly teary eyes, looking around at the room he was in. He spotted Edward's still-unopened presents that were haphazardly dropped onto the floor, making him remember where he was and what he was doing in the dead of night about 8 hours ago. The black-haired boy grinned mischievously.

"Oh, _I_ remember now..." he chuckled, turning his head to the other side of the mattress. "Hey, Ed, wake up. You have t-" But, unexpectedly, his little blonde boy was missing. Envy lifted up the covers, and searched around the room once more for the Elric. "Ed?" He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, retrieving a black t-shirt and putting it on. Suddenly, his ears and nose tuned into the sound and smell of cooking food that emanated from the downstairs kitchen, cueing an internal fantasy that his amazing blonde angel was making him breakfast. Out of his eagerness, Envy dashed out of his (Ed's) room, jumped down the stairs, and erupted into the kitchen with a very enthusiastic, "Merry Christmas, my lovely Edward!"

"Oh, good morning, Envy," came a very male and very not-Ed-like voice from the stove. "Erm, Edward isn't here at the moment. He headed out a while ago with Alphonse to meet up with their teacher from a few years back." Hohenheim awkwardly glanced from Envy to the pan he was holding over the flame. "They'll probably be back in a couple of hours. I, erm... I made some breakfast, if you would like some."

Of course, the black-haired boy was so utterly mortified by his slip-up that he hadn't heard much of anything that the blonde man had just said other than "Edward isn't here" and "breakfast." He stumbled over to the kitchen table and shakily sat down in a chair. _Oh, right, his dad lives here..._ Envy thought.

"Uh... yeah, that's fine," Envy said awkwardly, uncomfortable with being with Hohenheim without Ed in the room; a feeling almost identical to that of a heterosexual boy and his relationship with his girlfriend's father. It was just strange. Hohenheim nodded, silently getting out another plate and placing it on the counter to be filled with foodstuffs.

"Merry Christmas, by the way," the man said, smiling a bit.

"Merry Christmas indeed..." Envy mumbled, hoping he could avoid more awkward silences or even more awkward conversations.

"How did you sleep?" Hohenheim asked, trying to make a bit of conversation. _I slept in the same bed as your son after passionately making out with him while completely shirtless and admiring how gorgeous he looked in a lolita dress, so I'd say pretty damn well, _said Envy's inner dialogue.

"Alright, pretty good," the black-haired boy said shortly.

"That's good, then," the blonde man responded. "I don't have work today, so I'll be able to come for dinner at Pinako's tonight." _Lovely, hopefully I won't end up screwing up magnificently and then have you rip me and Ed apart forever,_ Envy's thoughts continued in paranoia.

"I guess that's nice, to be with your family," Envy said politely, as Hohenheim placed a dish of eggs, toast and jam, and sweet-smelling bacon in front of him. "Thanks for the food."

"You're very welcome," the man responded, sitting down across from Envy with his own plate of food. "Speaking of family..." _Oh, god, no,_ Envy thought, sweat beading up on his skin. "What does your father do for a living?"

"A... living?" The black-haired boy repeated blankly, his mind searching for an answer. "Uh... come to think of it, I'm not even sure what he does." He admitted, crossing his ankles nervously. "I guess he does, uh... all sorts of things from time to time." _Including verbally abusing his children..._ the boy continued inwardly.

"Ah, alright," Hohenheim said. "And what about your mother?" A stroke of grief stabbed Envy's heart like a butcher knife, opening ancient wounds and pouring salt and vinegar into them.

"Uh..." he muttered, trying his very best to not shed any tears. "My mother... isn't around anymore." Perceiving the truth from the start, Ed's father nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry," he said, silencing himself as he took a forkful of eggs.

"It's..." Envy began, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "It's alright."

The two ate in complete silence from then on, the only noises present being the sound of a fork and knife clinking against the plate. When he was finished, Envy took his breakfast ware and placed them carefully in the sink, slowly going back upstairs without a word. But, before he could make it all the way up, Hohenheim's voice called after him.

"You know, if you would like to go and meet Edward, I could give you the directions," the blonde man called a bit awkwardly. "It's not all that far from here; you could also call Ed if you need any more help." The black-haired boy's head jerked back into the kitchen, looking incredulously at his boyfriend's father.

"Seriously?" He asked, his imaginary tail wagging like crazy.

"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier," Hohenheim apologized, motioning for the boy to be on his way. "I'll write you the directions now. You can go get dressed in outerwear and head out once you have them." Envy nodded, happily skipping back up the stairs into his little blonde boy's room.

"Yay, yay, yay, yay~!" He squealed happily, jumping out of his pajamas and slipping into a warm black sweater and green cargo pants. As he reached for his cape and beret, the black-haired boy considered calling Edward to let him know he was going to go see him at his teacher's house. Envy took out his phone, pressed the first number he had on speed-dial, and held the receiver to his ear.

[Calling: O'CHIBI-SAN]

The dial tone rang for a few times, until a familiar voice answered on the other end.

"Hello?" Ed asked, a hint of laughter present in the background.

"Hey, Ed!" Envy said excitedly. "Your dad's giving me directions to your old teacher's place or whatever. I thought I might come over and hug you to death for leaving this morning without telling me."

"You're kidding me," Edward sighed, disappointment creeping into his voice. "Alright, then, uh... I'll see you soon." The apathetic tone he heard from the blonde took Envy aback. _Does he not want to see me?_ He thought worriedly.

"Ed... is it okay? Do you mind if I come?" The black-haired boy asked softly, realizing how he was being a bit rude by just inviting himself to wherever his boyfriend was.

"No, no, no, it's fine..." Ed mumbled. "Just, uh... be prepared for anything, alright?"

"Prepared for... huh?" Envy inquired, wearing a puzzled look that Edward couldn't see.

"Just... I'll see you soon. And leave the gifts at home, okay? I can open them with you tonight," the blonde boy said sweetly. He paused, as if he were looking around for eavesdroppers at his teacher's house. "I love you," Ed whispered, sending renewed waves of joy into Envy's soul.

"I love you too!" The taller boy responded happily, gripping the phone as if to hug the blonde. "See you soon!"

"Bye," was the last thing Envy heard before Edward hung up. _Ed loves me~!_ Envy thought warmly, closing his phone and skipping with his coat right back out the bedroom door.

A few minutes later, Envy graciously took the written directions from Hohenheim and headed on his way to meet Ed. Strangely, the foreboding comment Edward left him to "be prepared for anything" had no effect on him, nor did the thought that he didn't even know Edward's teacher and was being quite intrusive by bringing himself over. _Ah, well,_ the black-haired boy thought, feeling free and easygoing as a bird. _I'm Ed's boyfriend. No one'll care._

Meanwhile, Edward Elric had just gotten off the phone and was making his way back to the breakfast table where his old teacher, her husband, and Alphonse were laughing hysterically at a memory they were sharing. He realized that it was quite rude to just let his boyfriend come over to his teacher's house without asking his teacher first, but Envy was _like _family, so it was cool, right? _Please let it be right..._ Edward prayed.

"What're you all laughing about?" Ed asked smartly, grinning at the three at the table.

"Just a little something your brother told us about you, shrimp," the woman named Izumi Curtis teased, grinning back in her faint, subtle way.

"I am NOT a SHRIMP!" Edward shouted, grouchily sitting down next to Ms. Curtis' beefy husband, Sig Curtis. "For the love of god, why the hell does eveyone keep CALLING me that?"

"Because you _are_ a shrimp," Izumi smirked. "To think that I've known you since you were an even _bigger_ shrimp... or maybe I mean smaller?" She chuckled, and Sig ruffled the older blonde's hair like an uncle.

"Hmph," Ed grunted. "What did Al tell you, getting back on topic?" Alphonse turned a bit red, awkwardly looking away from his older brother. "What? What happened?"

"Sorry, brother..." Al mumbled meekly, looking guilty. "I kinda told Mr. and Ms. Curtis about, um... about Envy." The older blonde's face suddenly turned seven shades of crimson, causing him to clench his hands and anxiously rub the sweat off of them.

"You _what?_" Edward breathed, his golden eyes filling with worry. But then, his dearest teacher placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Look, Ed, we're not going to admonish you over such a thing; that would be an incredibly judgmental and stupid thing to do. Shouldn't you know by now that I was never one to abandon people, no matter how ridiculously idiotic they may act?" Edward smiled, no matter how much he tried to hide it. "However..." Izumi continued darkly, pointing a stern finger at Ed's nose. "If that boy causes you any harm, in any way whatsoever, he will not get away with it. Do you understand me? Do you understand, Edward?" A cold shiver ran down the blonde's spine, reflexively making him nod.

"Y-Yes, ma'am," he stuttered, still intimidated by the dread-locked woman, no matter how many years that had passed since she was his teacher. As quickly as her face turned dark, Izumi's expression returned to a warm one.

"Alright, then," the black-haired woman said. "So, when am I going to meet him?"

"Oh!" Ed exclaimed, the lightbulb popping up over his head. "I, uh, almost forgot. He's actually on his way now... because... um..." The older blonde's voice shrank away as he saw Izumi frown at his remembrance, frightening him into silence. "Um... Ms. Curtis?" The woman stood up from her chair, pressing two of her fingers to her temple in frustration.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect this..." she muttered irately. "Sig, my lovely husband, would you please get another bowl ready for the shrimp's boyfriend?" Izumi requested sweetly, hugging the muscular man.

"Of course, sweetheart," he responded, standing up from his chair as well and kissing the woman on the cheek.

"Um... Ms. Curtis? I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize, Ed; you know my attitude towards excessively polite behavior," Ms. Curtis stated. "I'll be glad to meet him, as long as he isn't some sort of snobbish prick from that private school you and your brother go to." Edward chuckled at the obvious irony in her statement.

"I wouldn't worry about that."

Then, as if on cue, there was a the doorbell rang to signal Envy's presence.

"Be nice, be nice, be nice, Envy," the black-haired boy muttered to himself, unknowing of how wrong he was being when instructing himself to do so. "Don't be an asshole, don't be an asshole, don't be as asshole..." Suddenly, the front door opened and Envy was greeted by a massive black-haired man.

"Uh... hi," Envy mumbled, intimidated by Sig Curtis' figure. "I'm here for Ed. My name's-"

"Envy, right?" Sig grunted, not moving from the doorframe.

"Yes, that's me," the black-aired boy confirmed. He started to sweat in his warm clothes as he felt izumi's husband's eyes bore holes into him, as if the man were judging his character simply by looking at him.

"Alright, come in, then," the muscular man said, gesturing Envy inside. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" Envy answered, nervously heading into the house. Once in, Sig closed the door and firmly shook the boy's hand.

"I'm Sig Curtis, Izumi's wife," he greeted, grinning at Envy. "But I'm guessing that Edward didn't tell you who she was, did he?"

"Uh, not really," Envy admitted, slowly warming up better to the man. "Hohenheim told me he was visiting an old teacher of h-"

"WHO THE HELL CALLED ME OLD?" Came a booming female voice from a nearby room, scaring the black-haired boy half to death. Izumi suddenly stomped out into the front hall, a dark frown spread across her face, and Ed and Al following close behind. "Oh. Is this him, Ed?" She asked the older blonde, gesturing towards the taller boy. Edward smiled and nodded, reluctantly going over to his boyfriend and warmly hugging him.

"I'm glad you came," he whispered, blushing a bit.

"So, you're my student's boyfriend, huh," Izumi interrupted, walking over to the spiky-haired boy as well and stared at him critically.

"Uh, yes ma'am," Envy confirmed, feeling the impulse that almost everyone who met Ms. Curtis to call her a respectful name. She continued to stare, looking him up and down in the same way Sig did when he first arrived at the door.

"... I guess you'll do," she joked, grinning mischievously and shaking Envy's hand. The black-haired boy looked down at Ed with a confused look in his eyes; a look that said, "What do I say?"

"Act like you would to a normal person," Edward mouthed back reassuringly. And so, the newcomer went full-out and revealed the personality he hid from Hohenheim.

"I'll do? I'd say I'm more than just adequate, ma'am," Envy remarked proudly, wrapping an arm around his little blonde boy. "We've been happily together for about 3 months now~!" Izumi frowned, but it was a warm one; one of those frowns that looked like smiles when you looked at the person's eyes.

"Is that so?" She said. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, you little shrimp?" The dread-locked woman teased, bending down for emphasis that she was taller than Edward.

"**FOR THE LAST TIME!**" Ed shouted angrily. "**I'M NOT A LITTLE, PUNY, ELFISH MIDGET!**" Then suddenly, the blonde punched at Izumi, as she dodged backwards with perfect agility.

"Brother, you idiot!" Alphonse shouted at his older brother, as Izumi shot an uppercut to the braided blonde's jaw; Edward dodged by a hair, and countered with a flying roundhouse, which his teacher then blocked with a powerful front kick.

"... what the hell is going on?" Envy asked blankly, turning to Sig. "I thought she was his old chemistry teacher or something like that." Sig chuckled.

"Oh, no, boy, she was much more than that," he said. "She was his sparring teacher, his history teacher, and his life-lesson teacher. Alphonse's, too. And on top of all that, she cared for those two boys like they were her own kids after their mother died and their father disappeared." Breaking his violet eyes away from his boyfriend's sparring session, Envy looked at Sig in utter shock.

"What?" He almost gasped. "Their father... what did you say?"

"Their mother died, and their father apparently took it hard. Disappeared for almost 5 months, even when Ed and Al were only 7 and 6," the muscular man said sadly. "They didn't want to bother the Rockbells because they recently dealt with the lost of Winry's parents, so... well, they ended up here." Envy's heart swelled up with tears, surging with sadness at the information he just heard.

"I guess everyone has their own sad story, huh?" Was all he could say.

"Everyone gets their fair share sometime," Sig said. "And others get a lot more than they deserve."

"AARGH!" Came a frustrated yell from Ed's throat, as he flew backwards and Alphonse dangerously caught him. "Dammit, I forgot to block," he grumbled.

"I'm glad to see you haven't slacked off in your practice, Ed," Izumi remarked, catching her breath.

"But it looks like you could use a bit of practice," Edward provoked, standing up and shaking out his arms. Ms. Curtis smirked, not taking the bait.

"How about you, Al? Wanna go for a few minutes?" She said, grinning deceivingly as she cracked her knuckles.

"N-No, not right now!" Alphonse stuttered, stepping backwards and holding up his arms in the "not me!" position. "It's Christmas, anyways, should we really be fighting?" However, the black-haired woman didn't listen and instantly turned to face Envy.

"Well? How about you, have you ever sparred before?" She asked, a competitive look on her face that both terrified and amused Envy.

"I have not," he said, shifting into a "battle-ready" stance. "But I could try!"

"No-no-no-no-no-no!" Edward exclaimed, pushing Envy backwards and looking straight into his eyes. "P-Please don't, Envy. I... I don't want you to." Despite his calm demeanor, the black-haired boy's heart was absolutely melting. "Please?" Envy smiled, and gently hugged his absolutely adorable little blonde boy.

"How can I refuse you?" He said sweetly into Ed's ear, not caring much if others saw. "I love you."

"I love you, too," the blonde said back, blushing but certainly having one of the best Christmases of his lifetime.

About a half-hour later, the two brothers and Envy decided they would depart from the Curtis' house and head back home to Hohenheim, where they would dawdle around until it was time for them to depart again for Winry's house. It all seemed a bit tiring for Envy, but as long as he had Ed by his side, what did he care?

"Bye, Merry Christmas!" Edward and Alphonse cheered, waving goodbye to their past mentor and friend; Envy gave a happy wave as well.

"It was great to meet you, Izumi!" He shouted to Ed's surprise: the two had gotten pretty close within only an hour.

"Don't you be strangers, alright?" Izumi shouted back, smiling her signature small yet kind smile. The three boys walked away, giving her the opportunity to talk to her husband for a moment. "That Envy boy seems pretty good for Ed, I'd say." Sig chuckled.

"Well, if he's going to marry a boy, I'd say he's found a good one," the muscular man remarked.

"Hey, now, don't go off marrying other people's kids, alright?" Izumi kidded, hugging the taller man lovingly.

"Like you haven't been rooting for Alphonse and Winry to get together." To this, the black-haired woman laughed loudly.

"Let's go back inside. I'm getting cold."


	35. Chapter 34

**Emotion-ridden chapter~! Thank you for all the reviews, my fabtastical humans ^o^ And gosh, it's been over a month and I'm at over 80,000 words... I never knew I would get this far o_o Either way, I present chapter thirty-four! **

**P.S.: Tomorrow's chapter may be delayed. Busy things are afoot!**

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-Chapter Thirty-Four-

Upon arriving back at the Elric house, Envy immediately yanked Edward upstairs to their room in a very eager and/or anxious fashion.

"Envy, what're you-" Ed tried to protest, but as soon as the door was closed the black-haired boy began to heatedly kiss him over and over, dominating his mouth and warming up the cold that had sunken into their lips. The taller boy ever-so-gently lifted the blonde into his arms, not breaking their kiss, and sat down on the bed with him in his lap. Envy stroked Edward's back, tenderly running the tips of his fingers under the boy's shirt to send warm shivers down his back; at the same time, Ed's hands worked their way to Envy's hips, rubbing around his thin waist and tracing the muscles that were present.

"Mmmnnn..." Edward moaned into the kiss as the black-haired boy stripped off his own hat and cape, allowing freer access to his skin; the blonde boy immediately took the initiative and ran his hands up Envy's shirt, teasing his nipples and sending shoots of pleasure like bullets into Envy's body.

"Holy... shit, Ed..." Envy breathed, arching his back forward into the boy in his lap by reflex from pleasure. Ed dared to press his lips to one of the pink buds on the pale boy's chest, gently nibbling on the sensitive skin. "Ah...ahh! Holy... motherfucking... shit!" Envy gasped with pleasure, making the blonde chuckle a bit.

"Is it that good, palm tree?" Ed asked with a honeyed voice, his eyes milky with love for the boy in front of him.

"Do you want me to _show_ you how good it is?" The taller boy asked back with a lecherous tone in his voice, making Edward's eyes subtly glance at his crotch and then back at his eyes. But it wasn't subtle enough to get past Envy."WHOA! _Ed_ward! I wasn't thinking _that_!" He exclaimed, giggling and laughing his head off.

"I-I-I-I didn't...!" The blonde-haired boy turned bright red, his brain going so haywire that he couldn't put three words together without stuttering. "Y-Y-You d-d- y-you made me d-do it!" He tried to cover his incredibly crimson face with his hands, but Envy simply brushed them aside to plant a tender kiss on Ed's lips.

"I know, my O'Chibi-san," he reassured. "Thou shall not be bedevilèd by such trifled matters." His violet eyes suddenly darted over to the still toppled-over packages on the floor, causing a lightbulb to appear over his head. "How about you open your Christmas gifts now? And I could eat some more of that fabtastical sweet stuff." Ed nodded, with strands of his blonde hair sticking out from his braid in all sorts of places; he decided just to pull the braid out and leave his hair loose for a change.

Envy set the boy on the bed and retrieved the still-wrapped gifts for him, and collected the box of candies for himself. He stacked the packages neatly for Edward, presenting them in the best way possible.

"Merry Christmas once again, my O'Chibi-san," the black-haired boy said, hugging Ed from across the pile.

"This is a lot..." Edward observed, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"It's not as much as you gave to me," Envy said, being modest for once for the sake of his boyfriend. "Now open, open!"

"Okay, okay!" Ed exclaimed, taking the first gift off the pile and tearing open the tape. "It feels like there's more than one thing here," he remarked, trying not to grin like a little kid opening his gifts from Santa. As his ripped open the wrapping paper, he revealed...

All five books of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy trilogy. At the sight of his, Edward began to burst out laughing.

"What? What's wrong with it?" Envy yelled defensively, crossing his arms and pouting out his bottom lip.

"It's nothing... ahahahahahaha!" The blonde laughed gleefully, resting a hand on Envy's shoulder to keep himself from simply falling off the bed. "It's... hahahahahaheeheeheehee..."

"Okay, you're creeping me out now," the black-haired boy stated, staring at the boy across from him expectantly. "Well? Did I totally screw everything up?"

"No, you didn't," Ed chuckled. "I love it, Envy. It's so like you to get something like this." A mischievous smile was born on the taller boy's face, leading him to lean in close to the blonde and give him one of the most seductive looks imaginable.

"Do you love me more?" He asked, entwining his fingers with Ed's; the receiving boy of the seduction blushed madly.

"D-Do you want me to open the rest of them or not?" He stammered, making that cute face that Envy couldn't resist.

"Goddammit, why are you so adorable?" The other teen mumbled, breaking away from the shorter boy and lifting up another gift. "Here's the next one." The blonde nodded, taking the package from him and tearing into the gift enthusiastically.

Among the rest of the gifts were composed of a 5 DVD collection of Steven Spielberg's greatest science fiction movies (which were, in turn,_ E.T.: Extra Terrestrial_,_ Close Encounters of a Third Kind, Jurassic Park, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence_ and _Jaws_), a copy of Good Omens ("You will seriously love it to death," Envy insisted when Ed looked hesitant), and a book called The Alchemist that Edward had been reading for the past five minutes while Envy tried to pester him into opening the last two gifts.

"Come _on_, Ed, you still have a couple more things to open!" Envy tried to pull the book out of the blonde's hands, but he simply smacked the hand away.

"I'm reading, be quiet," he muttered, his golden eyes fixed upon the novel in his hands. The black-haired boy impatiently slapped and waved the two presents in front of his boyfriend, trying to steal his attention from his new interest.

"For the love of god, Ed," Envy groaned. "Do I really have to do this?"

"Do what?" Ed asked, his eyes still unmoving. At that moment, the taller boy stripped off his own shirt, flung it away and sexily presented himself to the blonde-haired boy.

"Come and get me, O'Chibi-san," he purred, cupping Edward's cheek and smirking slightly. A dark red blush spread across the boy's face like wildfire, and his expression became contorted with emotion, trying to keep his focus on the book in his hands.

"No," was all he said in a deadpan voice, not looking up for even a second at his half-naked boyfriend. At that, Envy put on his "you have offended me so much that I'm going to make you pay for it," face, despite the obviousness that the blonde was just messing with him a bit.

"How dare you ignore my sexiness for some book," Envy said irritatedly, crossing his arms. "Obviously you don't care a single bit about me."

"Not a bit, Envy," Ed responded sarcastically, not seeing how upset the black-haired boy was getting. Envy growled, his heart filling with anger and vanity.

"Then maybe I should just leave, how about that?" He growled, shocking Ed into looking at him. "Since you don't care about me, why am I here? What's stopping me... from just... leaving?" Tears started to slip down the shirtless boy's cheeks, filled with bitterness that originated from memories that Envy's mind recalled. _If only my memories could just wash away with these goddamn fucking tears..._ Envy thought depressively. _God, I'm such a wimpy bastard..._ He heard a clatter, and soon felt Edward's arms wrap around him.

"Envy, please don't leave..." Ed mumbled guiltily. "I _do_ care about you, more than anything else in the world. Please don't leave, I... I love you more than the world." The two sat silently for a bit, both contemplating what should be done next.

"Then open the goddamn presents, for god's sake," the black-haired boy persisted, rubbing his eyes raw and nudging the gifts towards Edward. The sudden change of emotion made the blonde pause for a bit. _Is he just bipolar, or... is he used to dropping emotions like that?_

"I will, I will," Edward reassured, taking the squarer of the two packages into his hands. He waved it around a bit. "Another movie?"

"_Maybe,_" Envy answered childishly, twiddling around a lock of his hair. As Ed started to open the gift, he looked at the shirtless boy pointedly.

"Are you planning on putting your shirt on any time soon?" He asked, blushing a bit from the taller boy's pale and incredibly attractive chest.

"Nah, it's kinda hot in here anyways," the black-haired boy responded, scratching his head a bit. "Or is it just me?" Ed smirked.

"Yeah, totally just you, Envy," he teased, looking down at the newly opened gift in his hands. The next expression his face took was one of utter bewilderment.

"_La Cage aux Folles?_" Edward questioned, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Cage of... madwomen?" Envy snickered, leaning his head on the blonde's shoulder.

"It's French slang, O'Chibi-san," Envy mused. "It means 'cage of homosexuals,' to be literal." Ed looked at him accusatively, raising an eyebrow.

"What is this, some sort of twisted gay porn you're expecting me to watch with you?" He asked blankly, sighing loudly.

"No, you little perverted blondie!" The black-haired boy laughed, taking the DVD out of Ed's hands and slitting open the protective tape with a fingernail. "It's a legit movie. A French movie, too. It's one of the funniest and best romantic comedies in the entire universe and we totally have to watch it together."

"You almost sound like a girl," Ed chuckled. "What's it about?"

"You'll find out when you _watch it!_" The taller boy hummed, placing the case off to the side and holding the last gift out to his wonderful boyfriend. "Now open the last one." Edward grinned at him, and tore through the wrapping paper to reveal an article of clothing. He pulled it out and shook it flat, only to see something that would make the most stoic of people smile with delight. Without saying a word, Envy slipped over to his suitcase, grabbed a t-shirt, put it on, and stood proudly in front of the blonde-haired boy.

"Well? Do you like it?" He asked; Ed pulled on his own t-shirt over his other shirt, and stood up next to Envy. The black-haired boy pulled him to his side, where the image on their two shirts came together in the most romantic way. On Envy's shirt, a man stood with a puzzle piece in his hand; on the puzzle piece was half of a heart, spilt down the middle by the puzzle line. On Edward's shirt, another man stood with the other puzzle piece, with the other half of the heart drawn on it. When the two boys were by each other's sides, the designs would line up in such a way that the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly, and their heart was one.

"I... I love it," Edward blushed, burying his head into Envy's arm. "And... and I love you, Envy." The black-haired boy gently kissed him on the top of the head and smiled.

"I love you, too, Ed. Merry Christmas!"

For the next few hours, the couple lounged around on the downstairs couch and watched some of the movies that Edward had received, with one of them being _La Cage aux Folles._ Soon enough, they were called by Alphonse to get ready to leave for the Rockbells' house, and left the house with Hohenheim with empty stomachs for the delicious feast sure to come. Undoubtedly, the dinner was one that Envy couldn't forget for the life of him. On the table was a gigantic turkey, a huge pot of mashed potatoes, beef stew, cranberry sauce and buttery rolls, his (and Ed's) clam chowder, roasted yams, turnips and asparagus, among several other things that begged to be swallowed down with great enthusiasm. The black-haired boy never had experienced such a grand meal at his own house, despite his family's financially fortunate state. After dinner came dessert, where the Rockbells and the Elrics greatly enjoyed the pastries and baked goods Envy had made; Ed complimented that he had never tasted such a delicious cupcake in his life, to Envy's slight embarrassment. Overall, it was a dinner that the boy would never forget, as he sat around the big table with the people he would one day call his family.

If it not were for his father.


	36. Chapter 35

**3-DAY WEEKEND IN AMERICA, HUMANS~! You know what that means? MORE CHAPTERS! MORE WRITING! MORE FABTASTICALITY! ~*(^o^)*~ Celebration time! Either way, sorry for the incredibly late update, I'm behind on chapters, but I'll catch up during the weekend (hopefully) ^_^ So, without further ado, please do enjoy chapter 35! The story of the palm tree and shrimp starts to truly unfold... •O•**

* * *

-Chapter Thirty-Five-

The week off passed with great romance and fluff and comedy, creating the best of memories for the palm tree and shrimp. Not a care was given to anything else other than the joy of being together, save for a couple of days that were reserved for completing school assignments; but even then, Edward and Envy couldn't help but be all over each other. One could describe their relationship as being exactly out of a fairy tale, full of pure love and affection and compassion and "absolute fabtabulosity," as Envy hilariously put it. The new year arrived, and now it was time for the private school students to return to their familiar campus. Technically, they were not due back to the school for a few days, but it was a smart idea to arrive early and get situated again. At least, that's what Ed and Al's father reasoned; the older of the two blondes hypothesized that he just wanted them to be gone a bit sooner.

Ed, Envy and Alphonse all lined up with their coats and scarves in front of the house, waiting for Hohenheim to come home and see them off. The tallest boy ignorantly questioned why bother; Alphonse kindly responded that despite his aloofness, they loved their father and wanted to see him before they left until spring. Envy nodded silently, contemplating what loving one's father actually felt like.

After only about ten minutes of waiting idly, Hohenheim's car pulled up and the blonde man stepped out to hug his sons.

"You'll call me for once this time, alright?" He asked in a very dad-like manner. Ed smiled a bit sadly, nodding slightly.

"Yeah, yeah," the shorter blonde boy said, rolling his eyes a bit. The father chuckled, then turned to Envy with a solemn look on his face; at the sight of it, the black-haired boy started to panic.

"Now, erm, Envy," he began. "You must remember when your father called at the beginning of the break." The tall boy's heart sank deeper than the Titanic.

"Yes, I remember."

"And you remember that I wouldn't tell you quite yet how I convinced your father?"

"... Uh-huh..."

"Well, your father requested that you take a train to your house-"

"WHAT?"

"- for the last two days of vacation. I'm sorry, Envy, but it was either that or you couldn't stay at all," Hohenheim looked at him sadly, his eyebrows turned up slightly from his apologies. "I really am sorry."

"Didn't that bast- my father _get_ that I didn't want to go home?" Envy shouted not at Hohenheim, but just to himself. "God, he just can't get it through his fuc- friggin' thick head that there must be a problem if I don't _want_ to go home!" The older man looked a bit startled at the boy's statement, his mind running through the possibilities Envy could have been getting at. "I'm not being beaten or starved, if that's what you're thinking, Mr. Elr- Hohenheim. He just... treats me like I'm 'less' than him, and it makes me sick."

_Boy, can I relate to that,_ Edward thought as he stared anxiously at his boyfriend. Ed's father tried placing a hand on Envy's shoulder, but the spiky-haired boy recoiled by reflex.

"I just... ugh..." Envy held his head exasperatedly, while the blonde-haired man stood dumb. Then, the short blonde boy gently took the black-haired boy's hand in his and stared into his violet eyes.

"It's only for a couple of days; I'll be alright, Envy," he comforted, squeezing his hand. "And you will be, too. I promise, everything will always be okay." Envy's heart melted at the sweet words, pounding with emotion and happiness that such a fantastic person was by his side.

"I... oh, goddammit," Envy grumbled, blushing a bit and shutting his eyes irritatedly. "Goddammit, you make it humanly impossible to say no." Edward smiled, his cheeks red from both cold and infatuation. "_Fine._ I'll go, but for no more than two days." The shorter boy hugged him tightly, so tightly that Envy couldn't breathe properly.

"I'll miss you," Ed mumbled into the taller boy's chest. Envy rested a hand on his head and gently kissed his forehead.

"I'll miss you, too," he responded, his heart throbbing with a sense of doom. Hohenheim grinned lamely at them, and when they broke apart he held out a hand once again to his son's boyfriend.

"It was great meeting you, Envy," the blonde man said. "I'm... erm. I'm glad that, erm, my son has a... erm..." Hohenheim struggled to get his words out. "Has a good boy like you to be, erm, by his side." The effect on Envy was instantaneous: it was like the sun just came up on the gloomy wasteland his heart felt like. The boy took the hand and shook it firmly.

"Thank you, Hoheheim," Envy blushed. "It was great to meet you, too." _Mission completed!_ He thought ecstatically. "Maybe I'll see you again next break," he proposed, laughing a bit.

"Perhaps you will," was all the stoic man said. With that, the Elrics and Envy said their goodbyes and walked to the train station with a somewhat comforting silence hanging over their heads. Upon arriving at the terminal, they retrieved their tickets (with Envy having to pay for his ticket, to which he commented, "Old bastard doesn't even care enough to buy me a ticket home."), and stood quietly in front of the archways that led to different trains. Alphonse had gone ahead, leaving his brother and Envy alone to say their farewells. Of course, it was only two days, right?

"I'm starting to rethink this again, Ed," the black-haired boy sighed, looking sadly at his little blonde boy. "I can just not go now and grab a ticket back to school."

"I don't want you to leave, either," Edward admitted. "But... please go. Sometimes we have to do things we don't like for the sake of family, even if we really dislike our families." The blonde couldn't bring himself to say "hate." "If you go now, then... you won't have to do it later, and you'll make your father happy or whatever." Ed squeezed his hand and his golden eyes stared into Envy's violet ones. "I love you, Envy. You can do this." A bell rung in the station that told all passengers to board their trains immediately. Envy swallowed, his skin sweating from nervousness.

"O-Okay," he said shakily. "I... I love you, too." Ed gently kissed him on the lips, took hold of his own suitcase, and broke away.

"I'll see you at school, you palm tree," the blonde grinned, waving goodbye. Envy waved back, his face forlorn.

"See you, shrimp," he managed to say, as he watched his beloved blonde boy head through the archway to the train back to school. Envy picked up his bags, turned towards the train that would lead him to his home, and reluctantly walked to it. Even though it was only a couple of days, the black-haired boy felt like it was actually a century.

Ed boarded the locomotive and instantly sat down in a chair, barely greeting his younger brother and hardly looking at Winry, who just boarded as well. The younger blonde and the taller girl looked at him worriedly, concerned for his well-being. The blonde-haired girl sat down next to him and hugged his shoulders, trying to make him feel better.

"It's only a couple of days, Ed," she soothed, rubbing his back in a way that reminded the boy of his mother. "Um... you... you can cry now if you want." Edward snorted, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm not gonna cry, that's lame," he stated, grinning a bit. "It's only a couple of days, right? He'll be okay." Winry nodded, glad that her non-blood-related brother wasn't depressed.

"Of course," she agreed. "Everything will go well, and you'll be back together in your dorms..." She quietly murmured something that sounded like "making out until your lips are swollen." "... in no time!" Ed laughed and crossed his arms behind his head.

"In no time, definitely," he repeated.

However, at the same time, on his own train, Envy was completely flipping a shit. He got a car to himself, since Ed's town was a quiet and reserved town where most people worked around where they lived, rather than traveling into the city. Especially since Envy's city was quite a ways away; the train travel time was close to six hours. Upon boarding his train, Envy practically threw his bags across the carriage.

"God fucking dammit," he grumbled, flopping down on the couch and squeezing his eyes shut. "This is going to suck. God, why didn't I just grab my free ticket to school and forget about my so-called obligations?" He pulled at his hair in frustration. Suddenly, the thought crossed his mind to try texting his blonde-haired boy, but upon opening his cellphone he found that there was no reception whatsoever.

"Fucking figures," he groaned, rolling his eyes. Past his outward forlornness, the black-haired boy really was quite irritated that he actually got forced, tricked even, to go back home. "Satan only knows I'll be kicking and screaming the entire way if that _bastard_ comes to pick me up so I don't run away..."

And so the two separate trains departed to different places, bringing the three blondes back to school and Envy back to the home he called hell. As his train drew closer to the city, more and more people boarded the train, but no one dared to talk to the scowling boy; they were afraid he would simply growl at them like a wild animal. Which, to tell the truth, was something Envy really felt like doing at the moment. In contrast, Edward's stress was relieved by the ignorance to how Envy's father truly acted and the reassurance that his boyfriend would be back faster than he could even blink.

It would be a very, very, very long blink.


	37. Chapter 36

**It is _hot_ today o_o Hot and humid, blergh. Either way, the story's gonna get a teensy-weensy bit angsty for the time being... however, nothing that I can't handle will be included! I'm quite sensitive to lots of angst! ;A; But still, adorableness and hilarity will continue :3 Please enjoy, now, chapter 36! **

**P.S.: Over 80 reviews! Thank you all, humans! **

* * *

-Chapter Thirty-Six-

A train pulled into a crowded and busy station, filled with people rushing around to get to and from wherever they needed to go. Envy Alighieri picked up his bags and attempted to worm his way through the thick concentration of people in his carriage, but to no avail.

_If there's one thing I hated about the city, it's how fucking crowded it gets,_ Envy thought irritatedly, trying his best not to violently shove everyone out of his way. Ever so slowly, the train emptied and the black-haired boy managed to catch a bit of fresh air. Judging by the large TV screen that was hung in the middle of the station, it was about 5:30PM. Envy took out his cellphone and wallet, and saw that Edward had left him a voicemail that dated back to around 3:00.

[Voicemail from: O'CHIBI-SAN]

"Hey, Envy, it's me. I'm back at the school and in our dorm right now. I hope that you're feeling alright; I'm really sorry about this. But, you have to do this to make your dad happy, even if you don't want to. And maybe it would be nice for Lust and Gluttony, too. And, uh... you can just ignore Ling or something. I know you're somewhat capable of that." Ed chuckled. "Anyways, call me when you get this so, um... so I know you're home safely. I, um... I love you. Bye."

Envy couldn't help but smile at his boyfriend's sweetness. He decided that he would call him back a bit later, after he had dealt with the hell he was about to go through. Suddenly, the black-haired boy's stomach grumbled loudly.

"I should probably grab something to eat," Envy said to himself, scanning the station lobby for a cafe or a fast food restaurant. "Even train station food is better than the crap Father cooks." He headed over to a McDonald's and ordered himself a cheeseburger and fries with his mind a bit dazed from being back in the city after so long. It felt like a whole different place to him.

Upon receiving his order, Envy sat down at an empty table and started to eat. To be honest, he didn't really like fast food all that much, but at least it filled his stomach so he wouldn't have to ingest any food his father fed him. His father really wasn't a good cook, but he always felt compelled to cook anyways. _He probably does it just to irritate me,_ Envy thought. But normally when his father wasn't home, Lust would make dinner. Her food wasn't so bad.

"Hey, isn't that Envy?" The black-haired boy heard someone say. He turned around to look for the source of the voice, and found Russell Tringham and his irritating younger brother standing in line for food. Envy immediately turned away, feeling immediate anger and panic at how much he _despised _this guy.

"It _is_ Envy," Russell agreed. "Oi, Envy! Nice to see _you_ back in town!" God, did Envy hate that smooth and sarcastic voice.

"Fuck off, you damn creepy botanist," the angered boy muttered. The two brothers stayed silent for a moment and got their food, letting Envy think he was off the hook. However, when Russell invited himself and his brother Fletcher to sit at Envy's table, he almost flipped a shit from anger. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, asshole?"

"Still got that mouth, I see," Russell remarked, his voice thick with a city accent. "How've you been? I heard you got yerself shipped off to some prissy private school a couple years back."

"And why would you give a fuck?" Envy groaned.

"We were the best of friends, and I missed you."

"We were _not_ friends, asshat."

"The hell is an asshat?"

"You. _You_ are the definition of an asshat."

"Um..." Fletcher mumbled, his meek personality always being undermined by Russell's sassy and loud one. "Er, so... why are you back in town now? Visiting your family before you go back to school?" Suddenly, Fletcher's manner of speaking and his personality slightly reminded Envy of Alphonse, Ed's brother. He couldn't help but ease up on the poor kid; he has one hell of a shitty excuse for an older brother.

"Like hell it's visiting," Envy groaned. "I have to go visit the old bastard because of a deal."

"What kind of a deal?" The taller blonde asked, his blue eyes glittering with a bit of lecherousness.

"Fuck off, plant freak," the black-haired boy snapped. "If I wanted to hang with my... my b- uh, friend, over break, then I had to go to hell for a couple of days before going back." He sighed angrily. "I still have no fucking clue why I didn't ditch the train and hopped on back to school." Suddenly, he glared at the blonde across from him. "So again, why do you give a fuck?" Russell issued an incredibly fake sigh; in all honesty, he and Envy were pretty similar.

They, at one point, went to middle school together; they knew each other because Russell started flirting with Lust and Envy punched Russell in the face and then Russell compared Envy's hair to a palm tree and then Envy had to be held back by a teacher before ripping the boy's throat out. Lust always remembered it fondly; Envy always remembered it as another reason why he shouldn't ever come home again.

"I told you, we were best fr-"

"Like _hell_, we were!" Envy shouted, banging his hands on the table and upsetting Fletcher's drink over the edge of the table. "Fuck. This is pointless. See you later, moron." As he stormed away, leaving his trash at the table, Envy realized how much more he was cursing and acting like a jerk since he got into the city. He blamed it on Russell. But no sooner than he had left the fast food restaurant did a strong hand grip onto his wrist.

"AGH! What the fu-" Envy's loud and panicked speech was halted when he jerked around to see his father clutching his wrist tightly. "Oh. It's _you_."

"When, exactly, were you deciding to go home?" Father asked coolly, his face as stoic as always.

"When I felt good and ready, _Father_," Envy spat, trying his best to restrain his foul language for once.

"Apologize for not coming straight home," the blonde-haired man commanded.

"I'm sorry," Envy said quietly.

"Say it again, louder."

"I'm sorry, okay?" The black-haired boy almost shouted. "I was just hungr-"

"There aren't any excuses for it, Envy," Father said, not releasing his grip on Envy's wrist. "The car is outside. We're going home." As the man pulled his son along, Envy felt the pain set in on his wrist bones.

"Dad, you're hurting me," he muttered, his entire body cold from the pure resentment he held for his father. Without a word, Father mercifully slackened his grip, but still held him until they got into the car. Again to Envy's resentment, it was yet another new Cadillac. _God, only complete assholes buy Cadillacs, and this moron now has __**four**__,_ Envy thought irately. For the first few minutes of the car ride, the father and son were completely silent. But since the ride was a good 45 minutes long, Envy couldn't avoid his father the entire time.

"You decided to obey for once," Father stated.

"Whatever," Envy muttered.

"I'm glad you realized that submission is the easiest way to go, Envy."

_Like hell it is._

"Whatever," Envy repeated.

"That man I spoke to on the phone last week," Father began. "That's your friend's father. You stayed with your friend over break, is that right?" The black-haired boy shuddered, knowing he was treading in shark-filled waters. He had to be careful about everything he said.

"Yeah." Envy made sure to clip his speech so that there was no room whatsoever to interpret his speech differently.

"You've never been that close to someone before," Father commented. "You've never had someone other than your sister to be in your company." Envy wanted to argue, but something inside him told him that arguing would be a _very bad_ idea. Suddenly, the blonde-haired man looked straight at him, his eyes boring holes into Envy's skin.

"What is that boy to you?" He asked coldly, already jumping to the conclusion that Edward was special in a way more than friendship to his son. A jolt of electricity shot through Envy's heart, almost causing it to stop entirely. His head felt incredibly light, as if the black-haired boy was about to faint. But he couldn't; that would make everything all-too suspicious.

"He's just a friend," Envy ground out, gritting his teeth and beating himself up on the inside. No boyfriend should ever have to feel this way. Father sighed thickly, a rare thing for him to do.

"Envy, I will get the truth out of you whether you like it or not," the blonde-haired man stated coldly; Envy shuddered, and his arms trembled with fear. He stayed silent for the rest of the ride, but as they pulled into the driveway, the black-haired boy dared to speak up.

"I... I _am_ telling the truth," he lied. Father looked at him, his eyes icier than a glacier.

"We'll see about that."

Edward Elric was slightly concerned. He had left Envy a voicemail over 3 hours ago, and the boy still had not called him back. The blonde paced around his room, considering if he should call the boy again; but, as he enter the deep-thinking zone of his mind, he decided that if Envy wasn't calling him back, he wasn't in a good situation to call him.

"God, I hope he's alright..." Ed said aloud. Strange thoughts crept into his mind, thoughts that depicted his boyfriend never returning to schools, thoughts that his boyfriend was being beaten or starved, or that the train had crashed and he had died, or even that his father was never going to let Envy see him again...

Ed shook the nightmarish scenarios away with the knowledge that Envy will indeed come back. He just needed to wait for that phone call.

"Envy!" A female voice exclaimed as the spiky-haired boy took his bags out of the trunk of the car. He looked up at his incredible house, and found that his sister Lust was standing in the doorway, dressed in full-black clothing as usual. "You're... you're home." Envy's face remained still, just as his emotions remained dulled.

"Yeah," he said, walking up the stone steps to greet the slick-haired girl. "Happy new year."

"Happy new year," she responded, her eyes filled with both regret and pity. "Are you alright?"

"Fucking peachy," Envy snapped; after realizing what he said, he sighed apologetically. "Just don't talk to me. I'm too fucking pissed off at that bastard we call Father to be thinking straight." Lust paused before she nodded. She placed a comforting hand on Envy's back, a hand that reminded him of her tendencies to be a bit motherly. The two went into the house, closely followed by their parent. As he shut the door, Father directed Envy towards his room.

"You know where your room is," he said simply. Feeling quite passive aggressive, Envy dragged his bags up the long staircase and flopped down angrily onto his bed. It may have not seemed like much to anyone else, but the main source of all Envy's problems and sadness and anger lied in the very house he resided in now. As he lay there, all the memories of his past flooded in, including the day his mother died. He was only 5 years old when it happened, so he couldn't remember much about her. But, ever since she died, his father only told him one thing about her when the question was raised,

"She hated you."

Envy could hear those three awful words as if they were being said now, and immediately pressed his face into a pillow and started to sob.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck..." he whined sadly. "What a wimpy bastard you're being, Envy. Get back to your fabtastical and gorgeous self _now._" Suddenly, he remembered something he had to do. He suddenly pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and held the receiver to his ear.

[Calling: O'CHIBI-SAN]

"Envy?" Edward's voice said worriedly, as if he had been anxiously waiting for Envy's call for hours.

"I'm here, Ed, I'm here," Envy said soothingly. "I'm okay. I'm sorry that it took so long; I ran into a couple of issues. But I'm here." He could almost feel the blonde boy smile in relief.

"Thank god," he breathed. "Uh... how are you?"

"I'm... I'm alright," Envy lied, not wanting to worry his little blonde boy any more than he already had. "Just a bit tired. It's a long train ride."

"Okay," Ed said simply. "I'm, er, in our dorm right now. It, um... kinda feels lonely without you here spouting off some Shakespeare nonsense." Envy's stoic face couldn't help but break into a smile.

"Should I start now to fill you up for the next few days?" He smirked, his voice softening immensely.

"Nah, nah, it's alright," Edward chuckled. "But, god... I'm so relieved."

"I can tell," Envy said. He paused for a bit, thinking of what to say next. "I love you, Edward Elric." On the other end, the blonde boy blushed.

"I love you too, Envy Alighieri," he responded warmly. At that moment, Envy heard heavy footsteps trudge up the main staircase, warning him to get off the phone immediately.

"Sorry, I have to go," he said apologetically. "I really am, Ed, I love you."

"It's okay, it's okay," Ed said kindly. "I love you, too. Byes."

"Bye..." The black-haired boy clicked the phone off remorsefully, and placed it on his bedside table.

"Damn, do I love you..."


	38. Chapter 37

**I DID IT! ^O^ Story updated today, as promised! Now, please don't hate me for using chat conversations in to story; it's a crucial concept involving the things to come. It'll only be as needed, I promise! :3 Either way, thank you all for reading, reviewing and loving ^.^ I now pull back the stage curtains and present to you, chapter 37!**

**P.S.: Darn it, the story update thingy is down! My apologies, I must hold off the update until tomorrow ;A;**

* * *

-Chapter Thirty-Seven-

"Envy?" A small voice called, its owner peeking into Envy's room. The black-haired boy looked up from unpacking his suitcase to see his younger brother standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Gluttony," he said somewhat kindly, gesturing for the pudgy boy to come in. Envy's room was quite a sight: everywhere you looked, there were stacks of books piled on the floor; many of them were different sorts of fantasy books or plays. His room was painted a deep green, which complimented his black bed sheets. On his walls displayed a various amount of posters and shelves, which held yet more books. In the corner of his large room stood a rather big desk that held his laptop, his camera tripod, and his notebooks. However, no one ever saw the notebooks. They were for his eyes only.

Envy's younger brother reluctantly stepped in, nibbling on his thumbnail nervously. He hesitated to say anything.

"What do you want?" Envy asked a bit more coldly than he intended.

"Are you okay, Envy?" Gluttony mumbled. Envy sighed, trying to calm his frayed nerves.

"Yes, I'm fine," he stated, shutting his dresser and flopping back down onto his bed. "It's just shitty that I've been forced back into this hellhole." Gluttony shuffled his feet on the glossy wooden floors awkwardly, trying not to look at his older brother.

"Envy... do you hate me?" Envy's heart stopped for a moment, a wave of guilt crashing over him like a ton of bricks. He shot off the bed, stumbled over to the bald boy, and clutched his shoulders sadly.

"No, Gluttony, no..." he stuttered. "I... I don't hate you. I don't hate being here because of you; it's because of Father and Ling and maybe that goddamn Sloth, if he ever decides to show his face." The black-haired boy's face scrunched up in mixed emotions. "You're, uh... you're my brother. I don't... hate you."

"Ling kinda bullies me sometimes..." Gluttony mumbled sadly. "Sometimes he's really nice and kinda funny, but other times he's really mean and threatens me..." Envy frowned.

"Ling's an asshole. There's nothing that can be done to change that. Next time he's bullying you, I... uh... I'll kick his ass for you. Um... okay?" Envy thought for a moment about how brotherly he was acting at the moment; he figured he was sort of being influenced by the conversation he had with Alphonse a while ago. It made him feel a bit weird, but hey, if your mom is dead and your dad is the biggest shithead on the planet, who else do you have other than your siblings?

Gluttony sniffled, his eyes almost drawing pity from Envy's heart. "Okay," he mumbled, before shaking off Envy's shoulders and heading out the doorway. But, before he was gone, he turned back around to face his older brother.

"I'm hungry, Envy," the bald boy said.

"Didn't you have dinner?" Envy asked.

"Yeah, but Father's food sucked so badly that even _I_ couldn't eat it..." Envy chuckled at his younger brother's words.

"Go get Lust, she'll make you something."

"She said she has work to do..." Gluttony said. "And... your clam chowder sounds nice right now." The black-haired boy chuckled again, this time at the compliment.

"Alright, I'll make you something. But gimme a few minutes, I just want to check my computer and such." Gluttony nodded, a big toothy grin crossing his face.

"Okay!" With that, the short boy left. Envy sighed, massaging his scalp to try and rid himself of the massive headache he was experiencing. He trudged over to his desk and sat down in his comfy rolling chair; he always insisted that no self-respecting teenager could live through life without a rolling chair. He spun around on it a few times, allowing himself a bit of fun indulgence. The black-haired boy, now slightly dizzy, then clicked open his laptop and started it up.

The screen blared into life and his desktop loaded up with all of Envy's applications, folders and other icons; among those icons was a alias to the chat client Adium. Envy always felt a bit hipster-like when he used it because it was so customizable and honestly no one really new about it. However, the obscure chatting server did incorporate more common ones such as MSN and AIM.

Suddenly, the spiky-haired boy had the inspiration to text Ed and get him to fork over his account name so they could chat. He rolled over to his bed, picked up his phone, and began to click away at the keys.

[Text from: ENVY A.]

hey, shrimp, fork over your AIM account name or whatever you use for chatting. i wanna talk to you on my comp.

Envy sent the message, then laid back into his chair. Not a few seconds later, his phone buzzed with a reply from Edward.

[Text from: O'CHIBI-SAN]

how am i supposed to mssg you when i dont have a comp w/ me? nd im not a shrimp, palm tree

_DAMMIT!_ Envy thought, his hand smacking his forehead out of his stupidity. _Plan failed. God, I can be such a moron._ But as he went to send an apologetic message, his phone buzzed again with another text from the blonde.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: lol jst kidding envy hohenheim gave me a laptop 4 xmas nd i brought it with me. $5 says u 4got he gave it 2 me

[TXT: ENVY A.]: *gives $5* shut up. just give me your account name because asshole bastard-face only gives me 400 texts per month.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: asshole bastard-face?

[TXT: ENVY A.]: you know who i mean, that moronic shithead sperm donor who's DNA unfortunately ended up in mine. now come on, didn't i just tell you i only have like 200 texts per month?

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: u totally said 400. nd thts not a very nice thing 2 say about ur dad

[TXT: ENVY A.]: i do not give a pancake. TELL ME YOUR ACCOUNT NAME OR I WILL GO ON A SHAKESPEARIAN RAMPAGE MWAHAHA :3

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: have u gone fucking nuts for only 1 day w/o me? nd wtf is up w/ tht emoticon

[TXT: ENVY A.]: give me the goddamn account name, elric.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: fine, ok! its theTallestAlchemist

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: whts urs?

[TXT: ENVY A.]: no, seriously? that's fucking hilarious. i'm dying over here from laughter XD

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

[TXT: ENVY A.]: hahahahaha :P my name's shakespeareSundae. go online now, you adorable shrimp!

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: like ur name isnt just as stupid, palm tree

[TXT: ENVY A.]: CHAT. NOW.

Envy's horrible mood was immediately lightened once more by his conversation with his wonderful boyfriend, even if they couldn't be physically together. He rolled back over to his laptop, opened his chat client, and entered Edward's ironic username into the "add friend" bar. He couldn't help but burst into another laughing fit that the blonde went out of his way to call himself the "tallest" in his chat name. It was just too funny. As soon as he had entered it, a chat box opened up with the ridiculous name heading the message.

TTA: hey envy!

SS: Sup, shrimp ;)

TTA: im not a shrimp u palm tree!

SS: Come on, at least use standard English when you're using the computer. You have a full keyboard in front of you, for god's sake.

TTA: Alright, alright, whatever.

SS: That's better. How's the dorm?

TTA: Boring as hell.

SS: Oh yeah? Maybe I should spice things up a bit~! *winks*

TTA: Oh god, no.

SS: That's so unsexy, Ed.

And so their conversation continued, with the obligation to cook clam chowder for Gluttony quickly fading from Envy's mind. Talking to his blonde boyfriend was an opportunity that he would never miss, not even for an impending apocalypse. Conversing with Edward helped the black-haired boy escape his hellish home, or at least the hell he created his family to be. But, just as Envy was about to forget his misery completely, the boy named Ling Yao slunk into his room.

"Hey, Envy," the squinty-eyed boy greeted, donning a traditional Chinese-styled shirt. "Finally decided to come home, huh?" Envy frowned as he typed a quick goodbye message to his blonde-haired boy.

SS: I gotta go. Asshole Bastard-Face just walked into the room.

TTA: Your dad?

SS: No, the other Asshole Bastard-Face.

TTA: ...Ling?

SS: Yeah. Love you, byes.

"Who're you talking to?" Ling asked curiously, trying to peek over his half-brother's shoulder. Envy reacted violently, swinging his elbow backwards with the intention to hit the boy in the face. Luckily for Ling, he managed to dodge. "Whoa, what the fuck?"

"Get the hell out of here, bastard," Envy spat. "You're the second to last person I want to talk to right now."

"_Second_ to last person?" The other black-haired boy asked. "I'm flattered. Who's below me?"

"The asshole who always looks down on us, who else?" Envy growled.

"Ah, you mean Father," Ling confirmed. "Well, I guess that makes two of us." The spiky-haired boy jerked back in his chair to face his half-brother, his face contorted with confusion and shock.

"What are you playing at?" Envy interrogated. "You're his fucking favorite, anyways. Why are you suddenly trying to be all buddy-buddy with me?" Ling smirked and tried to sit down on the taller boy's bed, but Envy simply snarled at him to get the fuck off.

"Huh, maybe it's because I'm just as sick of Father as you are?" Ling suggested. "When you decided to take a hike off to Ed's house, the damn man interrogated us to the ends of the Earth as to where you were. As if we would know." Envy felt a pang of guilt strike him, but he refused to acknowledge it being that he knew his half-brother was trying to manipulate him. "Why'd you go over to Ed's place, anyways? You're just roommates, so..."

Sometimes Envy wondered if Ling was really that dense, or he just acted like that as a part of his manipulative personality.

"Why would you care?" Was the only response that the spiky-haired boy could come up with. Again, Ling snorted.

"Because I'm curious," he said mischievously. "What is that shrimp to you?" Envy was silenced, his love for Edward mixing with his pure hatred for the boy called Ling Yao. He simply glared with his violet eyes at the boy whose eyes never seemed to be fully open, transferring his anger into an abstract telepathic message. Suddenly, Ling looked away and started to walk out of the room, seeming to know exactly what Envy was trying to tell him.

"I won't tell Dad, if that's what you're so worried about," he said quietly. "You may think I'm a despicable bastard, but outing you to someone so close-minded would be taking it too far. Even I have boundaries I won't cross." Envy looked at him blankly, his wrathful mind perplexed by the squinty-eyed boy's words. "See ya." With that, Ling Yao left Envy in peace.

The black-haired boy rotated back around to face his computer, only to find that someone other than Ed was trying to get ahold of him. He clicked open the chat box, only to find a person who he hadn't spoken to for almost two years.

carbonAssassin: hey, envy. it's greed. you know, your brother?

Envy hesitated to respond. He still held contempt for his estranged sibling, but still couldn't help but want to ask the man where he had been for so long, to ask why he had left, to ask if he was ever coming back home. In reality, Envy still loved his brother and looked up to him. When he was still around, the black-haired boy would begrudgingly ask him for help, fearing if the boy would mock him; but in the end, Greed would always be there for him. Maybe this time he would be there again.

SS: Uh, hey.

CA: how've you been? it's about time you came on chat.

SS: I've been at school. Dad wouldn't let me take it with me.

CA: yeah, but you haven't been on chat since i left. were you not allowed to come home or something?

SS. No. I just... didn't want to go home, I guess.

CA: father's being a real bastard, eh?

SS: Since when has he ever stopped?

Once Envy started to talk to Greed, he found it incredibly difficult to stop. The older boy was just so _easy_ to talk to; Envy had forgotten that in the time that he was gone. And the more he talked to him, the more the black-haired boy realized how much he really missed his brother. The hate that Envy developed, it was really only an angry manifestation that he put up as a defense system. And even if the younger Alighieri hated his brother for leaving, sometimes he couldn't blame him; sometimes he wanted to just leave, too.

CA: so, what's up?

SS: Just in my room.

SS: So, uh...

CA: what?

SS: Where are you?

Envy waited for a response, tapping his foot nervously on the floor.

CA: i can't tell you that.

SS: Then, why did you leave?

CA: probably for the same reason that you didn't want to go home.

SS: ...I guess I can understand that. But I still hate you for leaving without at least saying fucking goodbye.

CA: HA! no you don't, dumbass.

SS: Fuck off, dipshit.

CA: no, but, i guess i'm sorry about that.

CA: it was an asshole move

CA: and you're my bro anyways. i should've taken you with me.

SS: Heh, wouldn't that have been nice.

SS: But... even so, I've been okay at school.

CA: oh, yeah? met a nice guy?

A small shock ran down Envy's spine at the fact his brother knew he was gay, but it subsided as he remembered that he once told Greed about his sexuality. He then remembered how Greed told Martel about it, too.

SS: Oh yeah, and fuck you for spouting my sexuality to Martel.

SS: Asshole.

CA: whoa, she told you i told you that?

SS: Yeah.

SS: So fuck you for that.

CA: alright, alright, i'm sorry for that too

CA: but seriously, have you met someone?

The black-haired boy's fingers paused at the keyboard as his mind tried to reconsider trusting Greed so quickly; yet somehow the reflex to tell all to his older brother still remained within Envy after those years they were apart.

SS: ...yeah.

CA: whoa, seriously?

CA: tell me about him

CA: is he cute?

SS: You sound gayer than me right now, you realize that?

CA: i don't really care, spill it!

SS: Well... his name is Edward Elric, and we've been dating since late September...

And so Envy spilled all, his face turning redder and redder and his heart pounding louder and louder as he recapped everything about his little blonde boy. He described how his golden eyes glittered in the sun, how warm he felt when they embraced, how happy the boy made him feel whenever they just talked. The black-haired boy couldn't even resist telling Greed about that wonderful Christmas present that Ed gave to him; he was almost frightened at how loose-lipped he was being. But most of all, Envy told his older brother how terrified he was of his father finding out about his blonde-haired boyfriend.

SS: So yeah. Ling probably just guessed I'm dating him, but he said he wouldn't tell.

SS: But I'm still scared shitless.

SS: I can only imagine what the bastard would do.

CA: okay, chill

CA: dad can't do shit to you, and if he does

CA: i'll come back

CA: you want me to call or something?

SS: Hell, no.

SS: Not while I'm here!

SS: He'll fucking keep me here forever and beat me senseless.

CA: you're too paranoid

CA: look, when you're on your way out of there in a couple of days or so, i'll call him up and tell him for you

CA: if he calls you at school and tells you to come back home, you could just flip him off as usual or something

CA: i'll try my best not to infuriate him

SS: No, I don't like this plan. Please don't do it, Greed.

SS: I would rather that asshole never find out about it. Ever. And once I turn 18, I'll just get married and never see him again.

CA: whoa, you love this ed kid so much that you want to marry him?

SS: SHUT UP. I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY THAT!

CA: whatever you saaaay, bro...

SS: Just please don't! I'm already stressed enough as it is...

CA: okay, i won't.

But of course, Greed would. That's the kind of guy he was; despite of what his younger brother said, he would follow through with whatever he thought right, despite the consequences that could come with his recklessness. It was both a blessing and a curse, in the lanky boy's eyes. But if there was one thing he knew, it was that his adorably gay younger brother deserved to freely love whoever he wanted, no matter what Father had to say about it. In Greed's opinion, everything was going to be alright, and the entire universe will turn to Envy's favor one day.

In a way, the two brothers strangely were closer than either of them actually realized.


	39. Chapter 38

**Helloooooo, readers! ^o^ I have returned once again to bring you your next chapter of DYLS?, written by yours truly ;) Either way, thank you all for your reviews, alerts and favorites, and now I will reciprocate wiiiiiith... Chapter 38! **

* * *

-Chapter Thirty-Eight-

With a blushing and ecstatic look on his face, the black-haired boy met up with his wonderful Edward in a field that was thick with the scent of perfumed flowers and grass; a perfect setting for a romantic date. The two were lying on the ground, with the blonde snuggling close to Envy and almost falling asleep in the warm sunlight. Envy grinned at him, admiring his adorableness and twirling his flaxen braid between his fingers.

"God, I love you, Ed," the taller boy cooed, rubbing Edward's shoulders. The blonde simply moaned sweetly at the response, which indicated to Envy that he was unconscious. The baby blue sky suddenly turned dark with night, revealing thousands of twinkling and glowing stars and finally the gorgeous red moon.

"What a beautiful sky, huh, Ed?" Envy asked dreamily, his violet eyes milky with adoration and charm. He nudged his boyfriend awake with a kiss, and watched as the boy's eyes fluttered open. But at that moment, Ed's eyes opened wider than the sky above him.

"Envy," he whispered. "Since when has the moon ever been red?" The black-haired boy's eyes followed his back up to the moon, which to him only appeared to be a normal and shining white crescent.

"What are you talking abo-" The next time he looked back, Edward was gone. He sat up and looked around, searching the darkened landscape for his companion; upon finding him, Envy discovered that the shorter boy was running for his life.

"ED! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The spiky-haired boy shouted after him, scrambling to his feet and starting to chase him. "ED!" Envy repeatedly called his boyfriend's name, but Edward barely even turned around to scream back. Around Envy's feet, the fair-colored grass turned a dying brown and the colorful flowers blackened into burnt lilies. However, the panicked and love-stricken Envy was too occupied with regaining the warmth of Edward by his side to notice.

"EEEED!" Envy wheezed, his lungs pumping for air as he bent down on his knees. "Please come back, Ed!" Suddenly, the blonde-haired boy halted his gait, only to look back at the black-haired boy with a face filled with fear.

"Run, Envy," Ed whispered. Envy looked back up at the moon, only to find it was red with dripping blood. His heart thumped with utter terror when his plum-colored eyes set upon a gigantic green monster with jet-black hair and huge white teeth; but the things that truly startled Envy were the thousands of human faces and heads that decorated the monster's four-legged body, all screaming and shouting "help me!" "save me!" "kill me!", with tears running down their faces. As he tried to run away, Envy stumbled backwards and fell into the deadened field, locking his eyes on the demon. It approached him with a mischievous smile on his face, and slowly opened its gigantic mouth to reveal...

Ed. It was Ed. Envy's sweet little O'Chibi-san, simply sitting on the monster's tongue with a look of grave horror on his face. The black-haired boy smiled, and held out a pale hand to the frightened boy.

"Come here, Ed," he soothed. "Come into my arms. It's all gonna be okay." The blonde reluctantly stepped off the tongue and onto the ground, his legs shaking unsteadily. But the next thing Envy knew, Edward had collapsed into his arms and clutched him tightly as if for dear life.

Suddenly, the scene warped, and Envy now stood alone in the middle of a bright white room. He squinted his eyes from the abrupt change in light as he felt around for the blonde-haired boy; he wasn't there. Soon after, his father appeared in the room, his arms loosely hanging by his sides and his face stoic as ever.

"You have something to tell me, Envy," Father said, his tone of voice as commanding as usual. Envy gulped, and remembered back to something only he had said what seemed like years ago: _Don't over-think it. When it seems like the right time, just go ahead and say it._

"Father..." Envy breathed. "I'm gay, and Edward Elric is my boyfriend, and I love him more than the universe itself. More than... more than you could ever love me." He grinned sadly at his father, tugging at a lock of his black hair. "Could you, please... accept that?" The black-haired boy looked at him expectantly, his eyes glimmering with an unusual amount of hope.

And not a split-second later, Father lodged a knife into his chest.

Envy fell in slow motion, as if an invisible force was trying to stop him from reaching the floor. His vision became blurry, but not blurry enough to blot out the image of his mother form in front of him, smiling with a warm look in her eyes.

"Mom! Mummy!" Envy cried in a small child's voice, reaching out a hand to touch her and regain the happiness he thought that once was. "Mom!" The figure transformed again into Envy's beloved Edward once again, and finally their hands touched in a tight embrace.

"Shh..." Ed whispered, wiping a tear away from the black-haired boy's cheek with his thumb. "It's... all gonna be okay, Envy." Envy looked down to see the knife wound was gone, and now he was fully clad in a soft white robe. "I love you, Envy."

"I..." The taller boy weeped. "I love you t-"

"Holy shit," Envy breathed, his mind flickering back into consciousness as he sat up in bed. "Holy fucking shitfuck." He grabbed at his sheets as if to make sure they were real, and then clutched at his chest to make sure that his heart was still beating. And it was certainly beating like hell. "Holy motherfucking shitfuckistan." He clumsily grabbed for his phone on his side table and checked the time: 3:46 AM.

_Maybe the blonde chibi might be awake..._ Envy thought, his mind still shaky from the dramatic nightmare he just experienced. He flipped open the keyboard, and began to type a text for Ed.

[Text to: O'CHIBI-SAN]

You awake? :(

The black-haired boy didn't expect a response in the dead of night from the deep sleeper, but wished for one all the same so he could make sure his nightmare really was only a dream. A few minutes passed, and that hope he held soon began to lose energy. Yet, his phone buzzed into life without fail, bringing a comedically tired and sarcastic response from the blonde-haired boy.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Yes, I'm awake at 3-fucking-50 AM. What do you want?

Envy couldn't help but chuckle and squeal with delight at the sight of the message.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: I'm lonely.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Bullshit.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Damn, aren't you kinda snarky in the morning? ;)

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: I'm tired, alright? I couldn't sleep.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: I just woke up. I kinda had a nightmare...

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Oh, um... I'm sorry. Are you okay?

[TXT: ENVY A.]: ...Yeah, I guess. Just a little, um... scared, I guess.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Come to think of it, I've never seen you actually scared before.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Your tired personality is also very analytical. Cut that out.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Shut up. What was the dream about?

The black-haired boy originally had intended to tell the tale of his frightening dream, but upon being confronted with it, it seemed he couldn't bring himself into doing it.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Uh... actually, never mind.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: No, it's alright, really. Tell me about it.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: No, I kind of don't want to now, I dunno why. I guess I don't really feel like it anymore now. Can we talk about something else?

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Okay, okay. Today you're finally coming back to school :)

[TXT: ENVY A.]: FUCK YES. I feel like I've been in hell for the past 2 days. Oh, wait, I _have_ been in hell for the past 2 days. Felt like a freaking century.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: I'm happy to have you back ^_^ It's been a bit, you know, kinda lonely all alone in the dorm...

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Then I guess I'll just have to make it all better ;)

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Ehehehe, whatever that entails.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Alright, so I'm okay now. Go back to sleep, I'll see you at around 2PM since the train leaves at around 9.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Can't wait :)

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Nighty-night, my beloved O'Chibi-san~! (btw that's the name I put for you in my phone)

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Oh, yeah? Then I'll just put "dramatic Shakespearean palm tree" as the name for you, then.

[TXT: DRAMATIC SHAKESPEAREAN PALM TREE]: You would not.

[TXT: O'CHIBI-SAN]: Hahahaha :P So, uh, love you. Night.

[TXT: DRAMATIC SHAKESPEAREAN PALM TREE]: ... Love you too :)

With that, Envy shut off his cellphone and blindly tossed it back onto his side table, being that his room was totally dark. He grabbed one of his pillows shoved it under his head, and quickly fell back into unconsciousness. Luckily for him, he was no longer visited by nightmares and gigantic monsters and (worst of all) his father, allowing him to get a good night's sleep for a long train ride back to school. He couldn't wait to see his beloved golden-haired boy once again.

But the next time he woke up, the clock in his room read 9:36AM.

Envy sat dazedly in his bed, his mind a bit bleary from waking up once again. He rubbed his eyes to clear them from their fogginess; but the more he rubbed, the more he realized what was going on.

"Wait..." he mumbled. Suddenly, his heart rate increased exponentially and his eyes shot wide open. "FUCK!" The black-haired boy quickly scrambled out of bed, tripping on his sheets and falling flat on his face. As he got up, he muttered, "Thank god Ed didn't see that..." He rushed over to his suitcase, shoved his books and clothes into it, and staggered over to the bedroom door with adrenaline coursing through his veins. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck _fuuuuuuuuck..._" he said exasperatedly, hitting himself in the head. "God, Envy, you're a moron. Why, of all days, did you have to sleep in? You'll be lucky if you could catch the next train..." The spiky-haired boy groaned at himself. "Aargh, this is so bad... Why didn't anyone bother waking me up?" He practically jumped down the long flight of stairs, loudly dragging his bags behind him. In his rush, he hadn't even bothered to get dressed. As Envy reached the bottom floor, he halted when he heard and saw his father talking on the phone in an adjacent room. He instinctively turned around a corner and hid behind it, similar to when a little kid plays hide and seek with his friends. Only this time, it was serious.

Envy strained his ears to listen to Father, curious as to who he was talking to and what about. That, and he technically couldn't leave without getting a ride to the station. _FUCK! Lust and Gluttony and Ling must already be there..._ Envy thought anxiously. It then came to him that last night he failed to cook his younger brother some clam chowder that he promised. The black-haired boy smacked himself in the head again, scolding himself for being quite a crappy brother. _FUCK,_ he thought again.

The blonde-haired man sounded pretty angry, which was a frightening thing in and of itself to the anxious boy.

"Where have you been all this time?" Father growled, clutching the phone tightly in his fist. "Why have you betrayed your loving father?"

"Loving father, my ass," a snarky voice retorted. "I ran away because you're an asshole and I'm old enough to be on my own now."

"It is your obligation to be loyal to your father," the man stated. "Where are you? Are you planning on coming home?"

"Look, I didn't call to have a fucking argument about me," the voice sighed. "I need to talk to you about somebody else."

Envy froze as he listened to his father's voice, unaware that the person who called was none other than Greed Alighieri. He gripped the wall he hid behind in great anxiety and his skin started beading up in sweat, all from the curiosity he held for what would happen next.

"Who?" Father asked, a stern tone in his voice.

"About your dearest and most favorite son in the universe," Greed responded sarcastically. "You know, the one you've lied to for almost his entire life?"

"What about Envy?" At the sound of his name, Envy could've fainted. Fainted, or ran away as fast as he could. _They're talking about me..._ he thought. Suddenly, he remembered the conversation he had with his _dearest_ older brother the previous night, and how the _wonderful_ and _honest_ Greed said he wouldn't tell their _lovely_ father that Envy was gay and dating Edward. As a side effect of this realization, a gigantic sack of bricks labeled "DOOM" crashed down on the poor black-haired boy's head.

"FUCK! NO!" Envy whispered, shocked and frightened out of his mind. He had to run now, he had to get as far as he could from the man who would most certainly inflict the worst punishments on him. And it wasn't just paranoia that told Envy that. He tried to step out from behind his hiding place and make a run for the door, but Father had just turned towards his general direction and thus he could be seen if he crept into the light. _This is probably the worst scenario in the fucking universe,_ Envy thought defeatedly.

"Yeah, about Envy..." Greed muttered. "Well, how do I put this nicely..."

"What?" Father asked, his anger steadily increasing. "What is it, Greed?" _Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, it __**is**__ him!_ The spiky-haired boy clutched at his arms, digging his nails into his skin from nervousness. _Oh god, oh god, somebody save me..._

"Well, Dad, you're gonna have to deal with this, but Envy's gay. Gay as fucking Cameron Tucker from Modern Family," Greed said bluntly. "Not that you'd ever watch that awesome show..."

"...What are you telling me, Greed?" Father asked quietly. The oldest son sighed once again.

"Envy. Is. Gay. He likes boys. And," Greed paused for dramatic effect. "He's already dating someone."

"What?"

"God, are you like a broken record or something?" The sharp-tongued teen asked. "You know how Envy spent almost all of vacation with his roommate? Yeah, that's his boyfriend." Greed paused again, expecting an angered response. "Do I have to draw a picture for you, or what?"

_He told him, he told him,_ Envy thought, his eyes filling with tears from utter terror.

"You won't take such a rebellious tone with me simply because you're not under my control, my son," Father said, regaining a bit of his composure but still retaining anger in his voice. "You're meaning to tell me that your younger brother, Envy, is rooming with someone who is gay?"

"You are **not** getting the _point_, Dad!" Greed shouted exasperatedly. "Thank god that Envy and I aren't as fucking dense as you!"

"You will **stop**, Gre-"

"ENVY. IS. GAY," Greed pronounced loudly. "HE. IS. DATING. HIS. ROOMMATE. WHO IS ALSO GAY." There was a long pause, and Envy held his breath for all of it while he made a note to kill his older brother; even from across the hall, the black-haired boy could hear Greed proclaiming his own sexuality and martial status to their father.

"... I see," Father said plainly. "Fine. Goodbye, Greed."

"You better not do anything to hurt Envy, bast-" Before the oldest son could finish, Father clicked off the phone and set it back into its cradle. He turned around, narrowing his eyes to see that his second oldest son, Envy, was behind a wall and probably had been listening to the entire conversation.

"... Envy," Father called, walking towards the spiky-haired boy. Envy squeaked nervously, but put all his energy into staying calm as he edged out into the light to face his father.

"What?" He asked, making sure to keep his voice as steady as possible.

"Your older brother just called," the blonde-haired man stated. "Do you know where he is now?"

"I don't," Envy clarified. "I have no idea where he is."

"Fine," Father spat.

"Uh..." Envy began nervously. "Um... could you take me to the train station? So I could... you know... get back to school?" His father looked down at him condescendingly and coldly.

"Go back into your room, Envy," the blonde-haired man commanded.

"But... why?" The black-haired boy choked, thoughts of his wonderful Ed rushing into his mind and bringing tears into his eyes.

"I said go, Envy." Without another word, Father walked away, leaving Envy all alone in the hallway. At that point, the spiky-haired boy slowly dragged himself and his suitcase up the stairs, plopped back down onto his bed, and held his head in his hands.

_Why today?_


	40. Chapter 39

**Hellooo, chiblettes! I don't have much to say for this chapter, but I will express how happy I am that so many people like my story ^w^ I know I've said it a thousand-something times before, but THANK YOU FOR READING~! Now, without further ado, I present you, chapter 39!**

* * *

-Chapter Thirty-Nine-

It was now 2:30PM, and Edward Elric was anxiously waiting at the station for his black-haired boyfriend to exit the train. He was a bit nervous, being that Envy told him that he would arrive at around 2. Yet, he never minded much; he was all too in love with the boy to get angry at him for something out of his control. Finally, the train from the west rolled in to a stop, releasing the passengers out into the terminal. Ed excitedly searched through the throngs of exiting people, watching out for Envy. Suddenly, he saw Lust, Gluttony and Ling leave the train... but no Envy.

"Hey!" Ed called after the three siblings, waving his hand to get their attention. "Over here!" Lust turned towards his voice, and led her two brothers to go meet with him. To Edward's curiosity, Lust and Gluttony both held a somewhat forlorn look on their faces. _Are they okay?_ He thought.

"Hello, Ed," Lust greeted in her sultry voice, smiling a bit. "How was vacation for you?"

"Pretty good, I guess," Ed responded, a bit wary of Envy's absence. "Say, um... where's Envy?" Lust froze with a solemn expression, casting her eyes downward as if in guilt.

"Envy isn't here," she said. "He's back at home." A strong hammer pounded painfully into Edward's heart, bringing a wave of negative thoughts over the blonde-haired boy's head.

"What? Why?" He asked worriedly, his eyebrows turning upwards in sadness.

"Because _Father_ **told** him to," Ling chimed in coldly, his arms crossed in an ornery manner. "He's not coming back to school, nor is he even allowed to go out of the house, probably." Suddenly, Ed felt incredibly guilty from making his boyfriend go back home; he had never even dreamed of something this horrible happening.

"But...? How could he..." the blonde breathed as sweat started to well up on his skin. Seeing his anxiety, Lust gently placed her hands on the boy's shoulders to comfort him.

"It will be alright, Edward," she soothed, inwardly knowing how much her brother was going to need consoling that she couldn't give. "It won't be for forever. You know this: Envy loves you. He won't give up because he can't see you." She paused, thinking of what to say next. "And you shouldn't either. Separation from the one you love is hard, I... I know." Ed was taken aback by Lust's suddenly motherly attitude, but felt a bit calmer all the same. He stepped back, gave a half-hearted smile to Envy's three siblings, and departed without another word.

Upon arriving back at his room, the blonde-haired boy flopped down onto his bed and clicked open his laptop. Luckily for him, Envy was available to chat; that really was the only thing he needed.

TTA: Envy! Are you there?

TTA: I heard what happened with your dad, that you... you can't come back to school.

TTA: Hello?

Back at the Alighieri's house, Envy was sound asleep up in his room. He was previously thinking about how much torture and vulgarity he would make Greed go through for completely fucking everything up, but the black-haired boy soon knocked himself out from all the energy he spent into doing so. However, the irritating blinking sound from the chat messages continued to bombard him into consciousness.

TTA: Envy, please be there. I need to talk to you about all this.

TTA: Come on, _please?_

SS: Hi.

TTA: Oh, thank god. I thought you might've done something stupid :(

SS: And what would that entail?

TTA: Uh... never mind. Are you okay?

SS: Do you want the comforting answer, the dramatic answer or the honest answer?

TTA: Honest answer?

SS: I am feeling like the fourth biggest piece of shit in the universe.

TTA: Fourth?

SS: Below Ling, Greed and Asshole-Bastard Face.

TTA: I'm guessing Greed is your brother, judging from the continued gag of being named after a deadly sin.

SS: My name isn't a fucking joke, Elric.

Right after Envy sent that, he repeatedly smacked himself in the face. "Stupid stupid stupid..." he muttered.

SS: No, I mean, AARGH I didn't mean that. Fuck.

TTA: Oh, um... it's okay :)

SS: I'm just feeling really, really horrible right now.

SS: As stated before, the fourth biggest piece of shit in the universe.

TTA: No, you're not a piece of shit.

SS: How so?

TTA: I don't fall in love with pieces of shit.

Both boys blushed at the statement Ed made.

SS: Aww come on, you're teasing me now.

TTA: Huh?

SS: You being all adorable and romantic and blush-inducing. It's no fair.

TTA: Sorry ;)

SS: Meh. How's the dorm?

At that moment, Ling Yao clicked open Edward's room door and walked in, dragging his suitcases behind him. "Hey, Ed," he greeted, flopping down on what used to be Envy's bed. "Got any food around here? I'm pretty hungry, even though I ate on the train." Ed stared blankly at him, obviously befuddled by his presence.

"Er..." The blonde began. "Erm..."

"Oh, yeah," Ling mentioned. "I'm your new roommate, as designated by a certain blonde-haired bastard." Edward continued to look at him with a puzzled look on his face, thinking that by "blonde-haired bastard" that Ling meant either him, Hohenheim, or Alphonse. "I mean my and Envy's dad, in case you're wondering."

"Oh, okay," Ed confirmed, sighing a bit in relief.

SS: Helloooo?

TTA: Sorry, Ling just walked into the room.

SS: You're hanging out with _Ling?_ Have you forgotten about me so soon? :(

TTA: I promise I haven't I really do.

TTA: Apparently your dad made it so Ling is my new roommate.

SS: That fucking asshole. He probably did it just to make Ling stop us from talking. Fuuuuuuuuck.

TTA: Don't worry; I dunno why, but I just have a feeling that Ling wouldn't do that.

SS: ...whatever. I gotta go; AHBF is walking up the stairs.

TTA: Wait! Out of curiosity, what was the dramatic answer?

SS: ...

SS: Shit, I don't even know.

SS: I just feel... like badness.

TTA: Oh... sorry, I guess.

SS: It's fine, O'Chibi-san.*kiiiiiiiiiiiiiss* Bye.

Edward's cheeks turned red at the last chat message before he closed his laptop, unwittingly raising a chuckle from the squinty-eyed boy that sat across from him. He looked up to find that Ling Yao had already gotten himself comfortable in the space that Envy once occupied; a solemn expression crossed Ed's face.

"So, yeah," Ed said lamely. "Roommates."

"Who're you talking to?" Ling asked, as if he didn't know.

"Envy," Edward responded blankly. Yet, on the inside, he felt his heart swell with both feelings of love and sadness. God, did Ed feel horrible. How he wished that his beloved boyfriend was by his side once more, so they could hug and kiss and laugh together. The blonde squeezed his arms in an attempt to fight back the overwhelming pain in his chest, but it still remained, pushing out of his ribcage and threatening to take over his body completely.

"Hey, uh... are you alright?" A voice asked, startling Edward a bit into looking up and finding a solemn-faced Ling looking at him from across the room. "I mean, you must feel like shit, but..."

"I'm fine," Ed said bitterly, turning over on his bed so he faced the wall. He knew it wasn't Ling's fault that he and Envy were apart, but he couldn't help but want to blame _somebody_, _**anybody**_. Even himself. But despite the boy's sour attitude, Ling seemed oblivious and pressed on.

"I kinda doubt that..." he muttered. "Come on, talk to me, shrimp." Edward glanced back at him with a harsh look on his face.

"Fuck you," the blonde responded half-heartedly. "Why should I?" It was at this point that Ling summed up exactly how Ed was feeling: like he was about to kill something in anger and despair.

"Because, you know, I'm here," the straight-haired boy said. "And it's no good to keep it all bottled up." The blonde-haired boy looked away, his throat closing up from his suppression of tears. "... you're not blaming yourself, are you?"

"So_ what_ if I fucking _am_?" Edward growled, violently grabbing a pillow and shoving it to his face. "Ugh, why am I being like this..."

"Do you want the sarcastic answer or the honest answer?"

"Mmph," came Ed's muffled response.

"Okay, honest: it's because, as is kinda obvious, you love my moronic brother. Even though he's an asshol-"

"If you're trying to make me feel better, insulting my boyfriend isn't the way to go," Edward grumbled.

"... he's a _bit_ of an asshole, but either way," Ling chuckled. "It's only natural to feel upset when you can't be together. Especially if, uh, it's totally out of your control and it's probably going to be for a very long time..."

"You _suck_ at making people feel better," Ed groaned, shoving his head further into his pillow. "Just shut up, I'm not in the mood..." Ling sighed dramatically.

"The point is, it's not your fault. If Envy hadn't gone home it would've been a lot worse. And, contrary to popular belief, you _will_ see him again." He paused, thinking of what to say next. "You'll just have to wait for a bit."

Meanwhile, Envy quickly shut his laptop, shoved it under his bed, and covered himself with his bed covers so to avoid interacting with his despicable father. God, did he hate that man right now. Wait, not just right now; _all his life_. He heard the blonde-haired man step into his room, stand there for a few seconds, then leave without a word.

_What's he playing at?_ The black-haired boy thought irately, climbing back out from under the covers and grabbing his laptop again. Upon opening it, he saw that Ed was offline and his newest least favorite person in the world was online: his dearest older brother Greed. _Perfect, a verbal punching bag I can yell at,_ Envy thought maliciously.

SS: You motherfucking asshole dickface.

CA: That's some pretty strong language you got there, bro. What's up?

SS: Okay, fuckhead, think for a second. I'm on my computer and it's still Sunday. What is wrong with this picture?

CA: Uh

CA: The fuck why're you playing mind games with me?

SS: I'M STILL _HOME_, ASSHOLE!

SS: WHEN I _SHOULD_ BE AT SCHOOL!

SS: Got any fucking idea why that might be?

CA: Woke up late or something?

SS: No, you moron! Asshole Bastard-Face is fucking keeping me here, because **YOU,** Mr. I-Promise-I-Will-Not-Tell-Dad-That-You-Are-Gay, went ahead and did _anyways!_ So fuck you!

CA: Whoa.

CA: Shit.

CA: Uh...

CA: Sorry?

SS: I'm going to fucking murder you the next time I see you.

SS: Take a pot of boiling assfucking oil and pour it over your goddamn head.

CA: Okay, can you chill for a second and listen to me?

SS: No. You're an asshole.

Wherever he was, Greed executed one of the most exasperated and epic facepalms in the history of the universe.

CA: Envy, will you fucking listen to me?

Envy typed out an even more vulgar and insulting response to his older brother, but after a few minutes of deep thought and hesitation to send it, he decided to see what the man had to say for himself.

SS: Fine.

CA _Thank_ you.

CA: Now, I was going to give you a legit apology. I'm sorry that I fucked everything up. But you realize Father had to find out sooner or later.

SS: Yeah, but he didn't have to find out _**NOW!**_

CA: AS I WAS SAYING.

CA: He had to find out sooner or later, and isn't it slightly better that he found out through me rather than finding out by catching you having passionate sex with your boyfriend in your bedroom?

SS: ...

CA: Don't start fantasizing on me now.

CA: Don't start.

CA: ...

CA: ...

CA: ...

CA: Are you even there?

Envy was indeed physically in front of the computer at the moment, but his mind had fled into a fantasy land where he was passionately making out (since he barely had the nerve to go further) with his beloved Edward, stroking his delicious and warm body with his own long fingers and hungry tongue that made the boy beg for more. God, did he wish that Ed was next to him at that moment. They probably would have already started making out. After a few minutes of spacing out, Envy finally realized again that he was chatting with his brother and really should get back to him.

SS: Oh, right...

SS: Continue.

CA: ...

CA: I don't even want to know.

CA: But either way, Dad can't keep you there forever. Once you're 18 you can go anywhere you please.

SS: You fucking expect me to wait 2 or 3 fucking years until I see my boyfriend again?

CA: Of course not. That's where I come in.

For the next hour or so, Greed and Envy formed a meticulously cunning and "utterly fabtastical" plan to help Envy escape from the clutches of their _dear_ father. Unfortunately, though, the older of the two was actually quite far away from the younger's location, and certainly needed time to get everything together. It would be more than agonizing for the two boys in love, but Envy would do his absolute best to keep things together; if he and Edward truly loved each other (which, in fact, they did), they would most surely be able to stand against anything that got in their way. In Envy's next conversation with the blonde-haired boy, he omitted the entirety of the plan, even though it hurt him a lot more to not give Ed a bit of hope for their future. But, in time, it would make everything over a million times better.

Hopefully the black-haired protagonist would be able to keep his sanity long enough.


	41. Chapter 40

**Whoa. Over 100,000 words :O I am shocked at myself for writing such a long story... but I'm so into it I can't really make it shorter! Also, thank you for all your wonderful reviews! It makes me very happy ^_^ Now, without further ado, Chapter 40~!**

* * *

-Chapter Forty-

A week trudged past Edward's tired body at a painfully slow pace, beating him down with the repeated and agonizing thoughts that he really wouldn't ever see Envy again. He knew he shouldn't be so negative, and he knew that he would one day see him again. Yet, the blonde-haired boy couldn't help but feel utterly depressed and that it was all his fault that this happened. In his mind he imagined how crushed and lonely his black-haired boyfriend must be, clutching his pillow and sobbing into it. Wait, no, that's not right. Is it right? Edward hoped it wasn't. His daydreams reached further into the depths of his dark mind, conjuring up images of Envy being beaten by his father, or Envy possibly slitting his wrists to help the pain go away...

"Ed!" A female voice called, thankfully bringing the blonde back into reality. Ed looked up to see Winry standing in front of him with an incredibly concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?" Edward nodded pitifully, running a hand through his loose bangs.

"Yeah, I'm fi-"

"Lies," Winry interrupted. "You're blaming yourself again aren't you?" The blonde girl tried to make eye contact with him, but his golden eyes simply shifted away from shame.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I just feel like crap."

"Well, then, we're just gonna have to make you feel un-crap-like," Winry said cheerfully, slapping a hand on the shorter boy's back. At the moment, Edward was walking across campus with Winry, Alphonse, Ling Yao and Paninya to the cafe near the school to grab some hot chocolate and other sweets. Alphonse came up with the idea as a way to cheer his older brother up; Winry (and subsequently, Paninya) immediately went on board with that idea, along with Ling, because no one ever really liked to see Ed being so depressed all the time. Especially Ling, since the squinty-eyed boy had been having quite a hard time motivating the blonde to actually converse with him. Upon arriving at the warm little shop, Winry, Paninya, and Ling went up to the counter while the two blonde brothers found a table, giving Alphonse a bit of time to console his older brother.

"How've you been doing lately?" Al asked innocently, his golden eyes matching with Ed's. The older blonde looked away with a pained look on his face.

"Alright, I guess..." He muttered, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "I just miss him, you know? And I feel like it's all my fault for making him go." Al nodded knowingly, resting a hand on Edward's to stop his fingers from moving.

"You haven't changed a single bit since we were younger," Alphonse remarked. "You're always so eager to take the blame."

"Shut up..." Ed said half-heartedly. "And I mean, I have been talking to Envy and all, but... shit, it just hasn't been the same. He's not next to me, and he's not even within walking distance of me. Hell, I can't even _see_ him. How do I know... how do I know that he isn't in pain if he doesn't tell me? How do I know if he hasn't hurt himself or his father hasn't hurt him if he doesn't say? How do-"

"Shhhhh," the younger blonde whispered, a solemn look on his face. "You're worrying yourself a lot more than you should. I'm absolutely and positively sure that Envy isn't being beaten or anything like that." He paused. "And wouldn't Envy want to just complain his guts out if something was bothering him?" Edward chuckled.

"I guess you're right," he sighed, finally pulling off his hat, scarf and coat; the t-shirt he wore was the one Envy gave him for Christmas, with the man with the heart puzzle piece. Alphonse couldn't help but giggle at how dorky it looked.

"I'm guessing you got that from Envy?" He gestured towards his brother's shirt; Ed glanced down, a bit confused, then looked back up at the younger blonde with a look that said, _I had no idea I was actually wearing this._

"Uh... yeah, I did," Edward muttered, blushing a bit. "He, erm, has the matching one." Alphonse giggled again, making the older blonde feel self-conscious and try to put his coat back on again to hide his shirt.

"No, no!" Al protested, grinning. "Don't be ashamed of it, brother. It just shows... it shows you love him." Ed blushed again, draping his coat over the back of his chair and finally sitting down at the table.

"I really do..." he mumbled. "And that's what hurts, because I can't see him..." Suddenly, Winry came out of nowhere and dropped a gigantic plate of sweets and a big mug of hot chocolate in front of her like-brother, startling him into almost knocking his chair backwards.

"AGH! What the hell, Winry?" Edward exclaimed angrily, scraping his chair back into place. "What... what is all this crap?"

"It's _not_ crap, you shrimp," Winry teased. "It's health food." Ed looked at the blonde girl, then down at the plate of candies and pastries, then back up at Winry.

"Desserts are health food now?" He asked sarcastically. "What, is it packed with some sort of detoxifying laxative that'll make me lose weight until I'm skinner than Envy?" The taller girl laughed loudly, pulling Ed's braid to rile him up even more.

"No, not that kind of health food!" She clarified. "It's healthy for your heart. It'll make you feel better about not seeing Envy for a while." Behind her came Ling and Paninya, each holding several more plates and mugs for the group.

"Yeah, because all of us are really sick of you being such a sad-sack," Ling joked, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Paninya.

"That's _not exactly_ the way to cheer someone up, Squinty-Eyes," Paninya chuckled, setting down the dishes in her hands on the table.

"No kidding, Ling's probably the worst therapist in the universe..." Ed chimed it, a small smile starting to catch on his face.

"So now you're all beating up on poor old me so that you can make Ed happier?" The long-haired boy put up a pitiful expression, but then laughed like the rest of the teens. Soon enough, the five of them were all settled around the table and began to eat. Well, four of them began to eat; Ed hesitated at first to take a bit of a hot slice of apple pie in front of him, for his mind began to travel deep into romance-land. He fantasized about going on a date with Envy to the very cafe he sat in, with the two of them eating parfaits together (Envy's favorite) and simply staring into each other's eyes and telling each other they loved them. Then, Envy would point out that he had a bit of ice cream on his lips, but before he could lick it off, the black-haired boy would reach in and kiss him without any cares in the world of who may see.

"Uh, earth to Ed?" Winry called, waving a hand in front of Edward's blankly staring eyes. "How far away are you?"

"Somewhere nice..." Ed responded dreamily, idly stirring his fork around on the plate in front of him.

"You're blending your pudding with your apple pie, if you didn't notice," she pointed out.

"Whatever," Edward sighed, his golden eyes gazing out the window at he ventured deeper into his imagination. The next fantasy he concocted was of him and Envy standing in that very same gazebo on the lake where Envy (almost) confessed his love, but it was now winter; the lake was frozen over and many delicate snowflakes were falling through the air. Envy wore that cape and beret that he looked just so adorable in, paired with his raven-black coat that contrasted with his beautifully pale skin. He huddled close to the blonde-haired boy, wrapping his strong arms around his waist and nuzzling his lips near Ed's neck. Envy's warm breath tickled Edward's cold skin, making him almost giggle from the sensation. Suddenly, Envy spun the shorter boy around to face him, and without warning, held the back of his head and gently kissed his redden cheek. He whispered into his ear, "I love you, Edward Elric."

Ed thought that he really needed to write a book about all of these fantasies and get some extra credit in Creative Writing.

Then he thought that he should kill whoever just flung a scoop of pudding at his face.

"WHO THE HELL DID THAT?" He screeched, whipping his head around with eyebrows turned downward. "Well? What bastard is gonna pay?" Edward continued to glare at his four wildly laughing friends angrily as he attempted to wipe his face of the chocolate dessert without making a gigantic mess of himself. Of course, it didn't work very well.

"I swear, I am going to KILL YOU ALL if you don't tell me!" He shouted, slamming his hands down on the table only to find his hand squishing into his dessert plate; this only caused more eruptions of laughter from Winry, Al, Paninya and Ling Yao.

"Wouldn't you think that by now you would've learned to not slam your fists into tables so much?" Winry dared to provoke the already angry blonde as she failed to hide her growing smile.

"Just...! AARGH!" Edward shouted, hastily wiping his sticky hand onto a fistful of napkins. Soon after, his head fell to the tabletop with a defeated "thunk" while he continued to growl at his friends. "Come on, will someone just fucking 'fess up? I'm angry enough as it is." At that moment, the blonde-haired girl across from him pulled out her phone and set it on the table; Ed looked at her perplexedly.

"Uh..."

"Read the conversation..." she said simply, chuckling mischievously. Ed reluctantly picked up the cellphone and clicked through the screen that popped up.

[TXT: WINRY R.]: We're at the cafe now. Ed's being a doofus and won't even smile.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Fuck, you're making me feel bad. I wish I could make him laugh from here, or at least make him utterly infuriated...

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Well, we're all sitting down at the table now with our food. Ed hasn't touched his; he's staring off into space, saying he's "somewhere nice."

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Are you eating anything gelatinous, by any chance?

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Uh... yeah, actually. Pudding.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Do me a favor?

[TXT: WINRY R.]: ...yes?

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Take a spoonful of that shit and fling it at him for me. Just fling it as casually as possible. Fling it like you've never flung pudding before.

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Uhh...

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Trust me, it'll be hilarious, and it'll cheer Ed up a bit. Please? :)

[TXT: WINRY R.]: ...

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Done.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: And?

[TXT: WINRY R.]: He's totally flipping a shit. And there he goes with the fists to the table, and now his hand is covered in smushed apple pie... LOL I can barely breathe from how much laughter this is causing XD

As if one the cue that Edward read the conversation, Winry's phone buzzed with a new message from the devilish palm tree.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: SUCCESS! Is he at least making some facial expressions now?

Ed couldn't help but smile warmly at the ridiculousness of it all, and looked up questioningly at the girl across from him. _Can I answer him?_ His eyes said. Winry nodded; Edward happily typed a response.

[TXT: WINRY R.]: I'm smiling like hell, you scheming palm tree ;)

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Ed? :D

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Who else would it be? You evil, cunning, dramatic, gorgeous, devious devil, you XD

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Ooh, ooh, did I hear gorgeous? ;)

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Shut up. I gotta go, Winry's bugging for her phone back.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: Wait! By any chance, are you wearing the shirt I got you for Christmas right now?

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Uh... yeah, actually.

[TXT: ENVY A.]: ... me too :)

[TXT: WINRY R.]: Mind. Blown.

[TXT: ENVY A]: Sorry, I gotta go now. Love ya.

[TXT: WINRY R.]: I... I love you, too. :)

Edward returned the phone to Winry's outstretched hand, a big grin slapped onto his face; Alphonse couldn't help but laugh at his older brother's sudden change in attitude. But he couldn't help but wonder if his brother would ever see Envy again, and if not, if Ed would ever be as happy as he was at that moment again. The idea that Edward could fall into a never-ending depression like their father once did severely concerned Al, for if anyone knew how hard it was to deal with the loss of a loved one to something out of their control, the Elric family was a dead ringer for it.

Alphonse decided he would talk to Envy.

That night, Envy saw a name unknown to him blink up on his computer, eagerly trying to get his attention. He clicked open the chat box, and saw that a person named, "armoredCatLover" was inviting him to a conversation.

ACL: Hey, Envy!

SS: Uh... hi?

ACL: You don't know who I am?

SS: Not a clue, actually.

ACL: It's Alphonse, Ed's brother.

SS: Ohhh, alright. So, uh, what's up?

ACL: Not much, just in my dorm. But I need to talk to you about my brother.

Envy froze at his keyboard, his mind running through nightmarish scenarios of what dangers had befallen his beloved blonde chibi, scenarios that described him as injured, depressed, or - Envy gulped - even worse.

SS: What's wrong?

ACL: No, no, no, it's nothing bad!

SS: Then, what?

ACL: Well... do you have any idea when you might be coming back to school?

SS: If there was an idea, it's hidden very well. I don't even know why my stupid father is keeping me here. He's just leaving me alone in the house with the front door locked from the outside. I haven't even gone to school, for Christ's sake. He's boring me out of my mind.

Envy felt a bit guilty for ranting about his situation to his boyfriend's brother, rather than his boyfriend himself. However, he justified it with the facts that Alphonse asked first and he didn't want to worry Edward anyways.

ACL: Oh. :(

SS: I'm fine, really.

ACL: But is there a specific reason why he's keeping you there?

SS: It's a long and fucking confusing story involving an involuntary coming-out that ended in my being trapped here, probably only to keep me from seeing Ed. Stupid fucking homophobe, my father is.

ACL: Oh, I see.

SS: But see, if Assho- my father really plans on keeping me chained to my bed for the rest of my life, I need to do whatever I can to keep that from happening.

ACL: You're chained to your bed?

SS: It was a figure of speech.

ACL: Oh... ehehehe :)

SS: And I'm keeping my sanity because...

Again, Envy hesitated to spill his guts about everything he had on his mind, including the plan he was forming with Greed. He wanted to get Alphonse, Winry, and maybe Lust and Paninya in on the masterful espionage, because he definitely needed some students on the inside to help him out. But something inside of him told him not to let loose yet, something told him not to get others involved when the plan was just in the early stages of getting put into action...

Envy, of course, ignored that something completely.

SS: Alright, don't tell anyone about this.

ACL: About what?

SS: We're planning to break me out of this hellhole my father calls his house.

ACL: We?

SS: You, me, my older brother, Winry, and maybe Lust and Paninya.

ACL: What about Ed?

SS: No, no Ed. I don't want to worry him any more than I already have, and he has to focus on school and stuff. The last thing that I want to happen is get your dad mad at me for making his son's grades drop.

ACL: Well... we have school, too, Envy.

_Why am I such an idiot?_ Envy asked himself as he executed an excellent facepalm.

SS: Shit, you're right. Aargh, this was never gonna work...

ACL: No no no no I was just kidding! I'm sure we would all be glad to help!

Envy executed another facepalm at his quickly accelerating stupidity.

SS: Oh. Well, are you in?

ACL: Well, what's the plan? And shouldn't Ed be involved, too?

SS: No, not Ed. Again, I wanna keep him out of it so he doesn't get distracted of when he'll see me again. And if it doesn't work out... I don't wanna get his hopes up :(

ACL: I guess that kinda makes sense.

SS: Cools. So maybe you could fork over some usernames and we'll get this show on the road?

ACL: Well, before I make a commitment to it, what is the plan? I don't wanna end up having to dispose of your dad's dead body or anything... *shivers*

SS: No, it's nothing like that (as much I would like it to be).

SS: It's still in the... erm, planning stages, but here it is.

By the time Envy finished his long explanation of everything he and Greed discussed, Alphonse became incredibly excited and agreed to help immediately. He said he would do almost anything for his older brother to be happy again. Envy half-joked that Al would make a great boyfriend; Alphonse stammered in response. But when all was said and done, Al gave Envy the usernames of Winry and Paninya, in great hopes that they would be just as enthusiastic as he was. It was a stealthy and dangerous mission, but to get the two soul mates back together, nothing was too difficult.

Envy would do all that was possible to see his beloved blonde chibi again, even if it wasn't for eternity.


	42. Chapter 41

***le relieved sigh* Haaaaah~! Next chapter up! A bunch of emotions in this one, but all the same, everything adds to the same story! ^o^ But either way, I now proudly present to all you lovely readers and reviewers, chapter 41!**

* * *

-Chapter Forty-One-

Envy slumped against his bed frame with his laptop precariously wobbling on his bent knees; the black-haired boy had fallen asleep while surfing the internet, and his mind now lay in the depths of dreamland. The theater inside of him conjured up a beautiful fantasy where he and Edward were clad in black and white suits, respectively, and danced together under a spotlight that focus on them. In the darkness stood many watching eyes, but they dared not interfere with the boys' wonderful waltz. Envy smiled in his sleep as he imagined the two at the altar, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes with the most powerful love that could ever exist. Finally, a voice called out, "Envy, you may kiss the bride!" Edward reacted angrily and yelled, "I'm not a girl!", but not before being cut off by a passionate kiss that locked them together by marriage forever. Forever. Forever felt like both a blessing and a curse to Envy, but any eternity for him would be fine if he spent it with Ed. Edward Elric. His boyfriend, his lover. The one person he loved the most. Still in his sleep, the black-haired boy reached out his arms to hug something that wasn't there, only to be awoken with a start by a sharp voice shouting, "What are you doing, Envy?"

Envy's violet eyes opened, only to find that no one other than his father standing in front of him with his arms crossed.

"What?" The spiky-haired boy mumbled, rubbing his eyes and setting his laptop on the floor.

"Who were you talking to on your computer, Envy?" Father asked angrily. Still dazed from his absolutely beautiful dream, Envy responded with a bleary and slow voice.

"No one..." he mumbled.

"You're lying to me," the blonde-haired man stated. "You were talking to that boy again. That boy or my son, Greed. You know where he is!" As his mind woke up, so did Envy's incredibly fiery anger.

"'That boy' is my _boyfriend,_ you asshole!" The son shouted. "His name is Edward fucking Elric, alright? Just accept that I'm in love with a fucking guy, okay? And I don't fucking know where Greed is, for the last time!"

"You will not talk to me in such a way, Envy," Father growled. "You're not in love. He doesn't love you, because romantic love between two men doesn't exist."

"You fucking **moron**!" Envy screeched, tearing his blankets off of his body and stomping his feet to the floor. "Yes, it fucking does because I'm _experiencing_ it! You're the asshole that's ruining everything by keeping me away from him!"

"I'm keeping you away from him for the best, Envy. You don't need to be around deranged scum that make you think you hold romantic feelings towards boys. You're being incredibly stupid, Envy."

At the sound of those hateful words, Envy's voice choked. His anger had reached such an outrageous level that it was either kill or keel over. He felt as if his fists were on fire, aching to hit something, more specifically the source of his ferocity. The amount of energy inside of him grew to be too much: he simply collapsed back onto his bed and muttered to his father, "Get the motherfucking out of here."

"You are my son. You don't tell me what to do or not to do," Father stated simply, his voice infuriatingly calm.

"I said... get your fucking asshole self the fuck out of here before I kill you," the black-haired boy growled, not even looking at his face in fear that he wouldn't be able to hold back punching it. He heard the blonde man sigh, and then walk out the door. But before he fully left, Father said, "This is why your mother always hated you before she died."

That was it. Envy lunged towards his most hated person in the world, a fist raised high to break every rib in the man's body, only to be confronted with a closed door. Unfortunately, the tall boy was so furious that he couldn't stop his fist from flying into the door; his knuckles met and crashed through the wood, creating a relatively big hole in the entryway.

"Fuck."

Envy dared to step out of his room to retrieve the pieces of wood that had scattered all over the floor, praying that he would be able to fix the wood with the materials in his room. He dreaded to think that his father could peer into his room at night, watching him through that hole. Envy's blood ran cold at the very thought. Upon gathering all the pieces, Envy scoured his room for something to secure them with; he soon found his trusty roll of duct tape, which he made sure never to have without in his room, since it was so damn useful and he sure did need it when he accidentally smashed his fist through something out of anger for his father.

It was pretty obvious that Envy needed some help with his temper, but he asserted that it was all Father's fault that he was angry in the first place. Which, coincidentally, it was. He spent the next 10 minutes crudely stitching the door back together with strips of duct tape, seeing the process as a therapeutic opportunity for him to _calm the fuck down._ The black-haired boy stepped back to admire his handiwork, then walked back over to his bed to open his computer to check the time. It was exactly 10:56AM on Monday, so he couldn't talk to his beloved Edward or discuss the ultra-super-awesome-and-secret mission with Al, Winry, Lust and Paninya just yet. However, there was a certain person online that the incredibly bored Alighieri just happened to feel like irritating the hell out of. His _dearest,_ most _beloved friend_ in the _entire universe_, Russell Tringham.

shakespeareanSundae: 'Sup, asshole.

herbalGenius: What's up, best friend? I thought you were going back to your goddamn snooty private school over a week ago.

SS: My father fucked it all up. Just forget about it.

HG: Oh? Well, since you're around, how about we go out somewhere?

SS: Okay, first of all, I'm chained to my bed.

HG: I'll get a pick-up truck.

SS: Second of all, I'd rather have tea and crumpets with my dad than hang out with an asshole like you.

HG: Really?

SS: No. Fuck the crumpets. I hate that fucking Asshole Bastard-Face who's the biggest fucking homophobe dipshit on the planet.

HG: I see your language hasn't gotten any less vulgar.

SS: Fuck you.

HG: You almost remind me of a character from this web comic I've been reading recently.

SS: Don't give a fuck.

HG: You should check it out.

SS: Anything you like I'll be sure to absolutely despise with all my heart, so forget it.

HG: So you hate yourself?

SS: ... God, why did I even bother talking to you in the first place?

HG: Probably to irritate the hell out of me.

SS: Yeah, that's about right.

SS: Why the hell aren't you in school, by the way?

HG: Who are you, my mother? You should be in school, too, at least.

SS: You're telling me? I'm bored out of my fucking mind just sitting here, chained to my bed. I'd rather be back at my school with my bel-best friend.

HG: *gasps dramatically* YOU'VE FOUND ANOTHER BEST FRIEND?

HG: I'VE BEEN REPLACED?

HG: I'M SO HURT, ENVY!

SS: O, pipe down, thou is acting in ways found as ludicrous.

SS: Basically, thou is being a pain in the ass.

HG: What kind of pain? ;)

Envy's eyes opened wide at the sexual innuendo, his blood turning icy and his entire body shuddering at the thought Russell brought into his mind. It also utterly infuriated him.

SS: Oh god, are you flirting with me?

HG: Maybe... ;)

SS: No. Just, no. I thought you were into girls, since you went out of your way to hit on my sister.

HG: I'm bisexual, gorgeous. I'm looking for a little fun, if you know what I mean~!

SS: NO, you asshole! I have a boyfriend already and I love him to the ends of the Earth! I love him more than anything and I'm not going to do anything with you because it's both betraying him and by god, I fucking **HATE **you! Why did I make the mistake of contacting you?

HG: Don't deny it, Envy, you have feelings for me, too ;)

SS: I don't think you understand. _I have a boyfriend. His name is Ed and I love him with all my fucking heart._ I would never, ever do anything to hurt him in the entire universe. God, I love him. I love his personality, and how he gets all mad when I call him short, and how much he blushes when I kiss him or say something sweet to him. I love his blonde braid because it just adds to his overall cuteness and speaking of which he's probably the most adorable person on the planet. And you know what else, Russell? He fucking loves me, too. So why don't you just take your sex innuendos and go harass some other guy that actually gives a fuck for you.

HG: Whoa. Okay, I'm sorry, Envy. I didn't realize that you were serious.

HG: Shit.

SS: Just leave me alone.

With that, Envy closed the chat box with a grin on his face. Oh, that was quite fun. He needed to rant a bit about how much he loved his little blonde chibi. And he needed to get Russell on his fucking knees and begging for forgiveness; that was fun, too. But during his sidetracking, Greed had signed on and was pestering the black-haired boy endlessly to get his attention.

CA: Yo.

CA: Envy.

CA: Hello, you there...?

CA: I need to talk to you more about the plan.

CA: He_lloooooo_?

SS: Oh, hey :D

CA: You seem awfully happy for someone locked in his room for all of eternity.

SS: I just annoyed and humiliated the hell out of someone I hate~!

CA: I'm glad you've found a less physically destructive way to take your anger out on.

SS: About that...

CA: You didn't break the door again, did you?

SS: ... So, what about the plan?

CA: Have you gotten some other people in on it?

SS: I think I got his brother to help, and I bet I'll get Lust and two other friends of Ed's to do so, too.

CA: Good, because we'll need all the help we can get. Do you have their chat usernames?

SS: Yeah, but we can't talk about it now; they're in school, as opposed to certain Alighieris who _should_ be in school...

CA: Heh heh, that's rich.

SS: So, do you have any idea when we could put this into action, maybe?

CA: Uh...

SS: Uh, what?

CA: I probably won't be able to get back in town for the next month, at least.

CA: Maybe early March, this could work out?

SS: Are you fucking kidding me? Just how far away _are_ you?

CA: Pretty far, but I can only tell you that I'm in the country.

CA: I'm guessing Father already has interrogated you to see where I am?

SS: Dozens of times. I'm getting sick of it.

CA: But seriously, is it possible for you to hold out for another month?

Envy thought long and hard about this statement, his mind running through every possible outcome, pro, con, and disaster that could come out of holding out for another month. What if Edward couldn't take it anymore? What if _he_ couldn't take it anymore? What if they fell apart because the stress of not seeing each other was just too much? Envy could easily guess how much stress this was putting on his beloved blonde boy; he needed to get things done, as fast as freaking possible. He couldn't let this go on for another month, and if the plan fell through, who knows how long their separation would go for? The black-haired boy shuddered to think of a life without his Edward loving him, and shuddered even more at the thought of the blonde telling him he couldn't deal with the separation anymore.

Envy needed to act now. He needed people around him to get into action as soon as is humanly possible.

SS: No, it's not.

SS: I need this done as soon as possible. Within the next two weeks, three at the most.

CA: Whoa, wait, WHAT?

CA: You want me to travel across the entire country in less than two weeks, probably even less if you want me there sooner?

CA: That's motherfucking batshit insane.

SS: You can do it, you got there somehow in such a short time when you high-tailed it out of here.

SS: Greed.

SS: I couldn't take this for another month. Or even more. And Ed couldn't take it, either. It's just too much stress and anxiety.

SS: ...please.

Wherever he was, the older brother frowned at his computer screen from both frustration and pity. God, did he feel bad for getting his brother so deep into this horrible hell. He at least owed him this, right? A way for him to be as happy as you imagined he was with that boy he loved so much? Couldn't he just make this one thing work, so he could finally see a true smile on that palm tree's face that eluded him for years on end?

CA: Alright.

CA: We'll talk tonight, when your cohorts are all online.

CA: We'll get together and talk.

CA: I... I'll make it work. I'll start heading out tomorrow.

SS: You'll do it tonight.

CA: Uh... that's a bit of a problem.

SS: ...why?

CA: I'm a bit too intoxicated to be legally driving at this point, to be honest with you...

SS: Where the hell are you, if you're intoxicated at fucking 11:30AM?

CA: It's actually around 8 here...

SS: Are you in fucking Las Vegas or something?

CA: ...

SS: No way.

CA: ...…

SS: No shitting way.

CA: ...…...…

SS: You fucking asshole.

CA: ... talk to you later.

Without another moment's notice, the elder of the two quickly signed off of the chat client, leaving Envy all alone with his own thoughts. The black-haired boy closed his computer and, with there not being much else to do, perused his massive collection of books that lay scattered across the floor and stacked on his many shelves. He selected one of his favorite romance novels, plopped down into his swivel chair, and took himself away to a land without anxiety, loneliness or pain. Hours passed without his father bothering him again, and the spiky-haired boy finally seemed almost happy at the moment.

But only the warm embrace of his beloved little blonde boyfriend would keep him happy forever.


	43. Chapter 42

**Long chapter is long. The plan is carried out, part 1! ^o^ I've taken a liking to listening to the Homestuck background music while writing... it's energetic and it ultimately inspires me o_o Either way, please _do_ enjoy... chapter 42! **

* * *

-Chapter Forty-Two-

[shakespeareanSundae opened a group chat]

[armoredCatLover joined the chat]

ACL: Hey, Envy!

SS: 'Sup. This is the group chat I was telling you about.

[carbonAssassin joined the chat]

ACL: Who's that? "carbonAssassin"?

SS: He's my older brother, Greed. He's helping me out by actually breaking me out from hell.

CA: Yeah, and I'm gonna go through hell trying to get there in the first place.

SS: Where's Winry, anyways?

ACL: I told her and Paninya to be online tonight...

[mechanicalMistress joined the chat]

[cannonballRunner joined the chat]

ACL: Speaking of which, there they are!

MM: Hey, Al! What's up, Envy? How're you holding up at home?

SS: I'd rather not go into it...

SS: Did either you or Paninya see Lust at school today? I told her to be online tonight, too. At least, I sent her a message while she was in school. I hope she got it...

ACL: Wow. :(

SS: What?

ACL: You just seem really... I dunno, upset and depressed, I guess.

SS: Well, wouldn't you be, too?

[ultimateSwordswoman joined the chat]

SS: Finally, she's online. Hey, Lust.

US: Hello, Envy. How are you doing?

CR: We just went over this; basically, he's feeling like shit, with good reason.

SS: Yeah. But this isn't all about me being a sack of sad emotions and shit like that.

SS: This is about me and _Ed_, and how I'm gonna need all of you guys' help to get me the _fuck_ out of here.

MM: You say you and Ed, but why isn't he here?

CA: Long and complicated story, missy.

ACL: Yeah, Envy's reasoning is kinda stupid, but we're leaving brother out of the loop for now.

MM: ... he'll get incredibly pissed off about it when he finds out.

SS: I'm willing to take that risk.

CA: Hey, can we get moving here? I'm supposed to sober up in less than an hour and get my car into gear to drive all the way across the fucking country.

US: Where exactly _are_ you, Greed?

CA: ...

SS: It's not important. But before we start, can I trust everyone to not fall through?

SS: Meaning... do you promise to help?

ACL: Of course!

MM: I miss you two and your ridiculous antics. I even called Edward short the other day and he didn't get angry. I'm in.

CR: Same.

US: Anything to help my beloved brother smile again.

CA: Ditto.

SS: Hell yes! Then Operation Get-Me-The-Fuck-Out-Of-Here-And-Back-With-Edward starts now.

US: That's a lovely name you have there.

There was not a single outcome of this situation that Envy imagined that could have come out better. Everyone was excited, everyone was compliant and barely anyone even argued. The black-haired boy couldn't help but smile throughout the entire exchange, as a small flutter of hope rose in his heart that he wouldn't have to spend his life away from his soulmate. It was only a matter of time until things got put into action.

* * *

About 4 days later, Greed messaged his younger brother to tell him he was back in the city. The older Alighieri was quite disheveled after his long and tiring drive, but had settled himself in a cozy motel until the perfect time came to rescue Envy from their house. At the same time, Envy was fending off increasingly threatening and angry torments from Father, some of which involved Greed's current location, others involving Envy's hostile behavior that came with the periodic lectures, and still others involving Edward. The black-haired protagonist was at his very wit's end. At yet again, at the very same time, so was Edward Elric.

Every day had gone by like the blonde was in a thick fog that pushed him backwards every time he tried to move forward. Every time that Ed thought of his boyfriend, his heart twinged in lovesickness. The poor blonde-haired boy felt as if nothing was going to get better, and he really wasn't going to see his dramatic Shakespearean palm tree again. It crashed down on him like a gigantic wave, beating down on his back and sending him spiraling into utter depression. But Winry and Alphonse kept a close eye on him, making sure he wasn't hurting himself in any way, or if he needed any serious help. They encouraged him and they tried to brighten him up, but Edward just wasn't responding anymore. It frighteningly reminded the younger blonde boy of how he acted after their mom died, which only made him more enthusiastic about carrying out Envy's espionage to absolute perfection. Everyone, both families of Envy and Edward, just wanted to see their beloved boys together, smiling again.

* * *

On the next Friday, the ball started to roll.

After school, Winry and Edward walked across campus by themselves; Paninya was absent because, as Winry said, she had to go back home for a few days because of a family sickness.

"Ed," Winry called, placing a gentle hand on her dearest friend's shoulder. The boy didn't respond. "Edward," she said again, rubbing his back to comfort him. The blonde boy glanced up at her, and Winry saw the heavy bags and dark circles that had developed under his eyes, the defeated color his irises took on, and the pathetic smile that he tried to put on for her.

"Hey, Win," he mumbled. "What's up?" At the sound of Edward's quiet and distressed voice, the blonde girl whimpered a bit in pity and guilt that she had to conceal from him the plan that was to take place that night.

"Are you doing alright, Ed?" She asked. "Have you talked to Envy lately?"

"Every day..." Ed muttered, looking away again. "But it's... it's not enough. I can't even see him. I can't see if he's been hurt or anything. It's... it's just text..." Winry frowned, wishing she could do something to cheer him up.

"Oh, Ed," was all the taller girl could say, as she hugged her non-blood-related brother warmly in the winter air. "I'm sorry..."

"Maybe... maybe I should just stop this now..." Edward whispered sadly; Winry looked up at him in panic. "If we really... can't ever see each other again... then why am I trying to keep something together that just won't work out?"

"Ed," the blonde girl said sternly, startling the shorter boy. "Just listen to yourself. Would someone who's hopelessly in love with the boy of his dreams be saying that?" Edward reluctantly shook his head. "Don't let these horrible and pessimistic thoughts get to you. Envy still loves you with his entire being. Would he be talking to you every day if he didn't?" Ed shook his head again. "Things _do_ get better. I promise, Edward Elric. You _will_ see him again one day." Winry stepped in front of Edward and held his hand. "And," she began with a warm smile. "That day may be sooner than you think." Without another word spoken, the blonde-haired girl that Edward had known for so many years walked away, leaving a slowly spreading smile on Ed's face.

"Sooner than I think, huh?" He repeated to himself, continuing his walk back to his dorm under the grey winter sky.

That night, Envy sat in his swivel chair with his fully packed suitcases hidden under his bed. Greed would text him within the hour and tell him he was about 5 minutes away. The black-haired boy anxiously checked the clock: it was 11:26PM. Someone who just happened to arrive at the train station a few hours ago would be accompanying Greed just in case something went awry. Envy gazed out of his large bedroom window, his heart pounding in anticipation. Suddenly, he heard a light knock on his duct taped door. The spiky-haired boy grunted to his father to come in, for if he gave no response the man would have entered anyways.

"You're awake," Father stated.

"So fucking what?" Envy asked hostilely. The blonde man frowned.

"You still haven't decided to be a good child and just listen to your father," he said blankly.

"What makes the bullshit _you_ say any different from the so-called bullshit everybody _else_ says?" Envy questioned mockingly.

"I am your father, Envy," the man said, crossing his arms. "You are to respect me, my words, and my wishes. You are to obey them, as well."

"Bu-" At what was possibly the worst moment in the world, Envy's phone buzzed with Greed's notification. They were almost there, and Envy was running out of time. He had to get Father out of his way, and fast.

Greed parked his car around 10 blocks away from his old house; he figured that would be far enough so to not have his dearest father catch up and grab his license number when Envy made a run for it. His younger brother hadn't responded yet, but the lanky man didn't take any mind to it. The most of his worries was if the boy had fallen asleep, which he highly doubted. As Greed got out, a second and shorter figure followed. The eldest of the Alighieri siblings felt a bit uncomfortable picking up a total stranger to him from the train station, but Envy told him it was essential to the plot, and the person was already there waiting for him, so what could he do?

"Who was that on the phone, Envy?" Father demanded, stepping towards the cellphone as Envy stood and stepped back to block him. _I need to throw these outside, __**fast!**_ Envy thought desperately, his fingers subtly slipping into his pocket and finding a spare house key he swiped from the kitchen counter last time he ate downstairs; his own keys were taken away as a precaution a long time ago. "Well?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," the black-haired boy lied as he tried to keep his voice steady. "And even if I did, you have no right to go through my phone, anyway!" Father lunged a hand towards the phone again, but the spiky-haired boy only blocked him. "Just... will you leave me alone and let me go to sleep?" The blonde man frowned, standing stiff in front of his rebellious son.

"Give me the phone."

The two dressed in all-black ventured down the quiet city streets, as the density of houses grew thinner and thinner. They finally approached the front gates which, to Greed's displeasure, were locked. He cursed at the iron lock, shaking it violently in a weak attempt to crack it open.

"Fuck," he whispered angrily. The person beside him grinned, set a hand on his shoulder to push him out of the way, and took the lock into their hands. After examining it for a few seconds, they pulled out a key and clicked it into place.

"That's not gonna work with just any old key," Greed muttered, peering over the shrouded person's shoulder. Then, as if by magic, the lock clicked and the gate swung open. The tall man looked at the entryway in utter bewilderment, and the person beside him snickered as they pocketed the key again.

"No self-respecting espionage expert goes anywhere without a skeleton key," they said. "Your dad is pretty much an idiot for having such a common ward lock on his gate."

"My dad's an idiot for a lot of things, don't even get me started," Greed sighed.

_Shit,_ Envy thought desperately as his hands tried to grab at his cell without his father noticing. _I'm running out of time..._

"Give me the phone, Envy," Father repeated, his voice becoming more and more threatening by the second. The black-haired boy edged backwards; to his great relief, he finally found his phone and now casually hid it behind his back.

"Why should I?" Envy inquired tauntingly as he started to subtly shuffle towards his window.

"I said for you to give it to me, Envy," the blonde man commanded. "Don't make me repeat it again." The spiky-haired boy slowly made his way to the window, all without his father guessing what he was doing, and blindly searched around for the latch to open it. _Thank god that Father's denser than lead,_ the black-haired boy thought jokingly.

"You say a lot of things, _Dad_," the son said in response. "God, can't you just leave me alone for once?" His thin fingers located the latch, and quietly clicked it open. Then, without hesitation, Envy dropped both his cellphone and the key out the window to fall to the backyard porch 30 feet below. _Bye bye, phone..._ the black-haired boy thought with a bit of regret as he heard the device break into irreparable pieces. And, unfortunately, Father noticed the sound as well.

Greed and his mysterious cohort skirted across the large lawn, barely making any sounds at all. The former almost admired how the latter could be so silent; they were obviously very into the idea of a sneaky breaking-in breaking-out mission. The two approached the huge house, and slowly made their way around to the back porch.

"I hope the key is there," Greed mumbled idly. "Envy didn't respond to my text earlier."

"We're fine," the person in front of him reassured. "Damn, your house is gigantic. Mine is just a little townhouse in the very far outskirts of a city in the southwest." They approached the wooden porch, making sure to stay in the shadows in case "the enemy" was looking out the window.

Which, in fact, he was.

"Envy!" Father shouted as he pushed his son aside and stared out the window at the destroyed phone on the porch; Envy prayed he wouldn't see the key that was surely near it. "Why did you do that?"

"_Accident_," the black-haired boy said simply, a mischievous grin daring to cross his face. The blonde man glared back at him, then without another word stomped out of Envy's room and dashed downstairs; Envy suddenly realized that the man was heading outside to try and retrieve the phone. The two coming to save him were sure to get caught.

"FUCK!" The boy whispered as loud as he dared, as he opened his window wide and stuck his head out into the cold night air. He looked around the side of the house, straining his eyes to see if they were there. "Greed!" He called upon spotting two dark figures moving in the shadows. One of them looked up, his eyeglasses reflecting the moonlight.

"Envy," Greed said back, waving a bit. "I see you smashed your phone in the process of tossing the key down."

"Forget about that," Envy said desperately. "Father's coming downstairs, _now_, to get the phone and probably the key, too! You gotta get out of-"

"Hup!" The second voice shouted, as they jumped up into the air to an impossible height, and crashed their leg down right into Father's chest.

Envy and Greed's jaws dropped to the floor as their father fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

"What?" Paninya said defensively, turning to Greed and looking up at Envy. "You said I had to come along in case something went wrong. And something went wrong. So I did something. Can we get moving now?" The older brother looked up at the younger, who nodded in agreement. Greed walked onto the porch, grabbed the key and shattered phone, and quickly made his way with Paninya around the house again and unlocked the front door. The spiky-haired boy excitedly grabbed his suitcases, his laptop (simply to defy his father), and his winter jacket and dashed down the staircase to meet with the brother he hadn't seen for so long.

"Greed!" Envy yelled, stumbling with his bags as he approached the two in the doorway.

"What's up, palm tree," Greed teased as he ruffled his younger brother's hair. "I see you haven't changed much since I last saw you."

"Shut up," the black-haired boy grumbled. "I see you're still an asshole, with those cheesy glasses on your face."

"Hey, these are fucking awesome," Greed argued.

"HEY!" Paninya interrupted. "I know it's awesome that you two are brothers and all, but shouldn't we get going before the blondie wakes up?" The two brothers looked at each other nervously, both taken aback by the girl's energetic assertiveness.

"Good idea," Envy mumbled, as the three of them left the house and locked the door behind them. Greed threw the key as far as he could across the estate lawn; he reasoned that it would annoy their father to the absolute point he deserved, and Envy enthusiastically agreed. Right before they left, Greed took out a piece of paper and scribbled a note to their father for when he woke up.

With that, the three made their way out through the gates and back into the city where Greed parked the car. The spiky-haired boy groaned when he saw that his brother picked up one of the flashiest and most noticeable cars while he was gone: a sleek and shiny red convertible Corvette. Envy scowled at his older brother, who seemed absolutely oblivious to the actual problem they had.

"Greed."

"Hmm?" The lanky man asked as he unlocked the car doors.

"Where do you expect to seat three people and a shitload of luggage in a car with two seats and no trunk?"

Greed glanced back at the two teen, then at the car, then at Envy and Paninya again.

"Dammit," he grunted, scratching the back of his head. "Well, gimme a sec and let me think about this..."

"We aren't exactly in a situation where we have a surplus of time," Paninya piped up. "It's almost midnight, and most motels in the city won't accept people past 1."

"Alright, alright!" Greed barked. "Envy, you'll just have to ride behind the front seats and hope that you don't throw up."

"Whoa, _what?_" Envy exclaimed. "With all the luggage I have? No flippin' way."

"Look, do you want to sleep in a bed tonight, or what?" The oldest of the three argued. "Suck it up, I'll take some of the luggage in the front with Paninya and myself."

"Well, why can't _she_ sit in the back?" The black-haired boy argued childishly, pointing at the tanned-skinned girl. Greed tutted, hooking an arm around Paninya's shoulder.

"Now, now, Envy, you need to learn a bit more about treating a lady right," he said; in response to his previous action, Paninya elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "Oof!"

"I'm gay, what do I care?" Envy chuckled, high-fiving Paninya for her excellent maneuver. "Fine, I'll sit in the goddamn back. Don't drive too fast, alright?" The spiky-haired boy climbed over the side of the car and plopped himself down into the small luggage compartment, taking some of his bags with him. "And will you close the fucking roof on this thing? It's the middle of January and it's so cold my spit goes 'clink'." Both Greed and Paninya laughed at Envy's attitude as they climbed into the two front seats, shoving the rest of Envy's stuff in with them. The former turned on the ignition and pressed a button that closed the convertible roof, and then the three went on their merry way to find a motel that would take in some impromptu guests in the dead of night.

* * *

A few hours later, the two brothers and the black-haired girl had long since found a motel that (begrudgingly) took them in, and the knocked-out Father reawakened to find Greed's note shoved into his hand.

_'Sup, Dad._

_The spare house key (which I'm sure you'll need, since we locked the door) is somewhere on the grounds. Have fun finding it when you wake up! ;P_

_By the way, Envy ran away with me because you're a total asshole and he absolutely hates you. Maybe you should just let him go, and let me be his legal guardian. I'm already 20, anyways._

_See ya, moron._

_Your most beloved son who you just happened to replace with a squinty-eyed bastard after he ran away,_

_Greed_

_P.S. When you finally find the key, how about you check the phone?_

The blonde man growled angrily and set out to find the key before doing anything else.

By the time the key was retrieved, it was roughly 4:00AM and Father was pissed beyond human comparison. He stormed into the house and tried to call Envy's cellphone to intimidate him to get back home immediately. But just as he dialed the number on the home phone, he realized how impossible that was since the cell was absolutely busted only a few hours ago. The man's next move was to call the boarding school and have them take hold of Envy as soon as they saw him and then send him back home, but a blinking light on the phone in his hand caught his attention. Someone had left a voicemail for him at around 12:30AM, three and a half hours ago.

[Voicemail from: LUST A.]

"I'm making the assumption that you are either frantically running after Greed's car or you got knocked out by Paninya if you tried to interfere. But whatever the case is, I need to talk to you seriously about Envy. Father, you can't stop your son from being who he is. You can't simply keep him in the house forever and expect him to suddenly become the perfect child. If anything, he'll only grow to hate you even more. Yes, that's indeed correct. Envy hates you and has hated you since he knew what hating someone meant. And, most certainly, you know this."

"Father, Envy is gay and he's dating the love of his life. Would it trouble you so much to accept that he's found someone to be happy with? The biggest reason why we 'stole' Envy away from you tonight is really because you stole him from Edward. You stole his happiness. You stole his entire life. And, as Envy's sister, who only wishes for him to be happy, that displeases me that you would go to such extreme and restrictive measures just to try and get your son to obey you. But, in a way, you're only making him want to disobey you more."

"Perhaps you are a bit too oblivious of your son's feelings to be able to understand why he has refused to come home from school during break for the past two years. Maybe you could consider the fact that he just doesn't want to be around you? Maybe you could consider why he wouldn't want to?"

"Maybe it's because every time he acts out against you, you shout at him that Mother always hated him before she died?"

"Which, as you and I both know, is a complete lie. A jealous, sick and twisted lie that you've used as a means of revenge on who is probably one of the best people I know. He's not perfect, most certainly not, but he's Envy. And he's my brother. And he's Greed's brother, too."

"You may despise me, Envy, and Greed after all of this, but please keep in mind what I'm about to say, and everything I've said so far."

"Father, I think it would be for Envy's benefit if you turned over parental rights to Greed. Envy would still legally be your responsibility until he's 21 years old, but he wouldn't be obligated to come home and suffer your mental and emotional torment, and he wouldn't have to deal with you being completely absurd and judgmental when you say that homosexuality doesn't exist. In all due respects, Father, that is honestly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard come out of your mouth and I truly hope you don't sincerely believe that or so help me I will disown myself posthaste."

"But all in all, I hope you will take my words into consideration. Goodbye."

The blonde man set the phone back into its cradle with a hand stroking his chin in contemplation.

"She's... so much like her mother," he said, before retiring to his bedroom and falling asleep for the rest of the night.


	44. Chapter 43

**Over 5,000 words. O_O I'm dead. But I'm happy. But now, I bring you the exciting conclusion of Do You Like Shakespeare?. I would just like to thank all of my lovely readers (aka YOU!) who have brought such incredible happiness upon me during these past few months. I never thought so many people would love my story... so, THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU ALL! ^O^ **

**Now, without another fudging further ado, I bring you... chapter forty-three C':**

* * *

-Chapter Forty-Three-

"Oi," Paninya called, prodding both of the Alighieri brothers awake. "It's almost 8:00AM, we gotta get going soon if we wanna get a train headed towards the school. It leaves at 9." She paused for a response; none came. "Come on, you lazy bums!" Again, no response came from the two sleeping boys. The tanned-skinned girl sighed loudly before she pulled Greed and Envy's pillows out from under their heads and starting beating them in the face with them. "WAKE UP!"

"AGH! What the _hell_, Paninya?" Envy shouted, trying to grab at the pillow as the girl hit him with it.

"Oh, good, you're finally awake," she greeted cheerfully. "We need to get going, it's now 8:03, the ride to the station is half an hour and the train leaves at 9. _And_ we need to buy tickets since the school won't pay for them if they're not during breaks. So," she hit Envy one more time with the pillow, and practically kicked Greed out of his bed, "Let's get _going!_" The two conscious teens heard Greed fall to the floor with a loud "thunk," and soon were subject to his grouchy morning self.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, lady?" The lanky man growled, standing up and rubbing his aching head. "Owch..."

"I'm someone who you need to get out of here on time," Paninya retorted. "Remember? We're heading back out to the school so Envy can be with Ed again?"

"Yeah, but did you have to wake us up so goddamn _early_?" The oldest of the three groaned.

"We _told_ Win and Al that we would be at the school by 2:00PM-"

"Well, how long is the train ride?"

"_Five h-_"

"For the love of god, will both of you stop bickering?" Envy said in a way foreign to his normal personality as he frustratingly held two fingers to his throbbing temple. "Greed, she's right. Grab what little stuff you have and check us out. Paninya and I will load up the car with my luggage and we'll be out of here. Alright?" The two stared at him strangely, bewildered by his almost parental intervention.

"Uh... fine, then," Greed said, still confused, and made his way out of the room as Paninya and Envy grabbed the bags strewn across the floor.

Within five minutes, the three of them were out the door and on their way to the train station, with Envy begrudgingly sitting in the back of the car like the previous night. Upon arriving, Greed said simply, "Alright, get out."

"Huh?" Envy asked blankly, popping his head up from behind the seats.

"You heard me. I'm not taking the train with you, remember?" The black-haired boy stared blankly at his older brother, his mind slowly searching for the memory that held the information he needed.

"Huh?" Envy repeated; Greed chuckled.

"I'm heading back to do negotiations with a certain someone," the older Alighieri clarified. "Besides, what use am I without a car? I can't exactly take it with me on the train." He clicked a button that opened the convertible roof so Envy could easily exit the car; Paninya was already outside with a couple of Envy's bags.

"...okay," was all the spiky-haired boy said as he clambered out of the car with the rest of his luggage. "Uh..."

"What?" Greed asked, looking at his younger brother through his rounded shades.

"... Thank you," Envy mumbled, causing his older sibling to grin widely at him.

"No prob, you silly palm tree," the lanky man responded, playfully tugging at a lock of Envy's hair. "See ya later." With that, Greed flipped the roof back onto his bright red car and drove away with a casual wave.

"Good luck with Father, you crazy bastard."

Meanwhile, Lust stood by her dormitory phone, pacing back and forth impatiently. She didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt from sending such an outlandishly rebellious voicemail to her father - in fact, she was quite proud of it - but she couldn't help but get anxious about him calling her back. Goodness, she hoped he would call her back. It's better that he simply shouted at her for her so-called "insolence" rather than him just say nothing. Nothing means nothing, no opinion, no concerns, no words, no compromises. The black-haired girl also hoped that Greed didn't do anything too drastically stupid that would badly influence their father's final decision on Envy's future.

Who was she kidding, of _course_ he did something incredibly stupid. She couldn't trust her moronic older brother to have anything to do with Father and _not_ do something ridiculously stupid that would anger him beyond belief.

Lust guessed that Greed had just dropped off Paninya and Envy at the train station and was heading back for their house now. All she had to do was wait for the phone call.

Goodness, she was getting impatient.

At the very same time as the other two events, Edward was snoring in his dorm, fast asleep with his mind racing through a dream. Ling had long since woken up and gone down to breakfast, mainly because the blonde-haired boy was snoring at an incredibly alarming volume. Suddenly, Ed's cellphone rang in its ridiculously loud ringtone, startling him awake and sending him clumsily falling to the floor.

"Ow..." Ed grumbled, tenderly pressing his hand into where his ribs made impact with the side of his bed. "Who the hell could be calling so early in the morning?" He stood up tiredly and reached around for the mobile device; upon finding it, he flipped it open and read the caller ID.

[Call from: ALPHONSE E.]

"Hello?"

"Hey, brother!" Al greeted cheerfully. "I didn't expect you to be awake so early! It's only around 9:00!"

"Yeah, you just happened to wake me up," Edward said, chuckling. "What's up?"

"Well, me and Winry were thinking... would you wanna meet up with us for lunch at around noon? And afterwards we would head over to the..." Ed heard idle mumbling in the background in a voice that sounded like Winry's. "Over to the park, or something like that!"

"Uh, sure," the older blonde agreed. "Which restaurant?"

"Stella's. You know, the European one?" Alphonse asked, giggling a bit at something unknown to Edward.

"Yeah, sounds good. See you then."

"Bye, Ed!" With that, Al abruptly hung up and burst into peals of laughter.

"Nice job suppressing your laughter there," Winry teased, grinning like mad.

"Shut up, Winry!" Alphonse retorted, blushing. "I couldn't help it! It just makes me so excited and happy that my brother is finally gonna see Envy again..."

"God only knows how much he needs to," the blonde girl remarked. "I can't wait to see that dorky lovey-dovey smile on his face again when he sees him. Should I get my camera?"

"No, you'll only embarrass him!" The younger blonde protested, still laughing. "Let's just be happy for them and head out in a couple of hours." Winry smiled sweetly, and pulled the boy opposite her into a warm hug.

"Can't wait."

Finally, the phone rang. Lust's heart thumped at the sudden rush of excitement and nervousness that washed over her, but she quickly regained her composure as she answered the call.

"Hello?" She said smoothly, twiddling a lock of her hair between her forefinger and thumb.

"'Sup, Lusty," a familiarly irritating voice answered on the other end. "It's Greed, you remember me?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Lust responded teasingly. "I'm guessing you're home now?"

"Yep, I got ol' Father right beside me!" The girl's older brother said cheerfully. "Speaking of which, he would just _love_ to talk to you right now." The black-haired girl swallowed before continuing.

"Great. Put him on for me?" She heard a slight fumbling around with the phone before Father's voice took over.

"Lust?" The blonde man asked; Lust confirmed. "Your phone call last night..."

"If you haven't already, please listen to it."

"I have. Lust... you have absolutely no right to speak to me in such a disrespectful manner." The sleek-haired girl's heart sunk, but not too far since she expected a condescending lecture from her father in the first place.

"I know that."

"Then why did you do so?"

"Because, simply, you needed to know exactly what was on my mind and everybody else's minds. I only say the truth."

"You're meaning to try and _correct_ my parental methods?" Father asked threateningly, his voice growing with anger.

"To be blunt, yes," Lust provoked. "And to be even more blunt, what you're doing to Envy is probably- no, it's _exactly_ the opposite of what you _should_ be doing. Which is accepting that he's in love with another boy!" Lust tried to contain her exasperation, but she wasn't doing a very good job of it. She stayed silent by the phone for a few seconds, listening to see if Father had anything to say. No response came. "Instead of accepting, you deny that fact completely and go so far as to _lock him in his room and pull him out of school, __**just**__ to prove a point._ Which, as a matter of fact, means absolutely nothing! The only thing you're doing to him is pushing him further away from you!"

"Young lady..."

"Don't interrupt me," Lust said coldly. "Envy does not need this ridiculous amount of stress in his life. Do you realize why we had to go to such extreme measures to get Envy back with his boyfriend? Did you _really_ understand to a _word_ I said in that voicemail, or did you just listen and think that I'm just being stupid?" The black-haired girl took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Suddenly, she heard energetic clapping in the background on Father and Greed's side of the call.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Greed said, laughing like hell. "You hear that, _Dad_? You're all alone in your stupidity. Why don't you just give up and let _me_ take care of our little Envy?" There was a dead silence. A very long dead silence that extended for at least 3 minutes. Lust tapped her foot and clicked her long black fingernails against the wall in front of her.

"...fine."

"What?" Lust and Greed said simultaneously, their voices filled with incredulity.

"I said, fine. Do what you want. I'll call the school and have them add Greed's name to the guardian's list. Then you can do whatever you want. Put Envy back in a dorm with his alleged boyfriend. It's not my responsibility anymore." Lust's lips curled into a wide smile at the sound of her part of the plan being a complete and total success.

"Thank you, Father," she said graciously. "If you don't mind, could you do that now? And have the school write down a letter of Greed's guardian-hood and give it to me, if you please."

"Fine," the blonde man said blankly, before hanging up the phone and leaving Lust to laugh in joy.

* * *

"Yo, Envy," Paninya said, glancing over at the black-haired boy. "Your teeth are chattering. Are you cold or something?"

"Nah, I'm just..." Envy began, rubbing his hands over his arms. "Just a bit nervous, that's all."

"To see Ed? Or to find out if you're free from your obnoxious dad?"

"A little bit of both, I guess," the taller boy responded, folding his legs and wrapping his arms around them. "I just... I hope everything will turn out alright." The tan-skinned girl smiled, and reassuringly rubbed his back a bit.

"Don't worry about it so much," she said simply. "It's about 11:30 now. You wanna go grab some lunch?" Envy shook his head.

"I'm good; I'm a little too nervous to be safely eating anything right now." Paninya looked at him for a moment with a bit of concern in her dark eyes, but then she stood and exited the train carriage in search of food. As soon as she left, Envy pulled out a pad of paper from his coat pocket and examined it closely. On it was written a piece of literature of the black-haired boy's own creation, labeled, "For my O'Chibi-san." He scanned it over, checking for any and all things he could make better for his beloved boyfriend's maximum squee-value. He soon smiled, perfectly satisfied with his little piece of writing.

"I can hardly wait any longer," Envy whispered to himself, wishing that the train could just go faster.

"Hey, Al! Winry!" Edward Elric called from across the street, spotting his younger brother and his non-blood-related sister in front of the restaurant where they said to meet. The two waved back at him a bit too cheerfully, greeting him with a similar call.

"What's up, Ed?" Winry asked as the three entered the restaurant and took off their winter clothing.

"Not much," the older Elric mumbled. "Just a bit down, as usual. I haven't talked to Envy today... I guess I'm a bit worried." To his discomfort, the two blondes across from him smiled unnaturally for a moment before sobering up to solemn faces.

"It'll all be okay, brother," Al said, placing a consoling hand on his older brother's shoulder.

"Erm... okay, then?" Edward responded confusedly. The three waited around a bit before a hostess approached them and seated them at the very same table that Ed first had his "date" with Envy. The blonde-haired boy immediately recognized it, and thus his heart twinged from the memory of his beloved boyfriend. He remembered how Envy ordered a parfait and got embarrassed when he raised a question about it, and how they went to see _Titanic_ for all of an hour before leaving and going to the gazebo where the black-haired boy (almost) asked him out. Edward was sad, but yet he couldn't help but smile at the sweet memories he was recalling. Both Alphonse and Winry secretly snuck glances at their little shrimp, snickering at the irony of it all. They wondered how they could possibly wait any longer until Envy and Paninya arrived.

Lust Alighieri quickly walked up the stairs of the administrative building after receiving a call for her to come visit; the woman on the phone didn't tell her why, but the black-haired girl was absolutely sure of the reason. After all, she _was_ the one who coordinated it. She politely knocked on the door of the secretary's office, and immediately was given permission to come in. A man sat behind a desk, tapping away at a keyboard on his computer, but that wasn't what Lust was aiming for. On the desk lay a closed envelope, addressed to herself and her dearest brother, waiting for her hands to hold it.

"That's for you," the man said, gesturing towards the letter.

"I know," Lust responded sultrily as she swiped it off the desk. "Thank you very much." She curtsied slightly for the sake of politeness, and dashed down the staircase just as fast as she went up them. Now all she had to do was head to the park and wait.

* * *

"All passengers, please exit the train and remember to take your luggage with you," an automated voice sounded as the train pulled to a halt. Envy immediately stood up with all his bags at the ready, his entire body shaking from nervousness.

"Hey," Paninya called, making the spiky-haired boy stop in his tracks.

"Hmm?" He asked, his purple eyes vacantly gazing out the train windows in anticipation.

"Calm down. Everything's gonna be fine," the girl said simply, trying her best to keep the boy in front of her relaxed. Envy grinned as he scratched the back of his head anxiously.

"I know."

"Alright, and here's your check," the waiter said, dropping off an extensive piece of paper in front of the three blonde-haired teens. Ed stared agape at the expensive total, then at Winry and Alphonse.

"I cannot believe you two ordered soup, salad, appetizers, entrées, dessert, _and_ coffee..." he said incredulously. "It's like you're _trying_ to spend the maximum amount of time here. Or at least trying to run me dry of money." Al and Winry laughed nervously before taking the check in their hands.

"If you pay a third of it, we'll treat you and Envy one day," Winry said compromisingly, causing Edward to look at her even more incredulously.

"Are you _serious_? That's almost 400 dollars!" The older brother whispered fiercely. "I had beef stew and apple pie! $30, max! You guys are absolutely _insane_!" Again, the two opposite Edward chuckled nervously.

"Please? I promise I'll pay you back, brother," Al pleaded, a small smile on his face; Ed sighed, then begrudgingly took out his wallet from his pocket.

"Fine, but..." he began. "If I don't see Envy again, you'll still owe me." Once again, Alphonse and Winry giggled again. "Okay, what's going on?" Edward asked demandingly.

"What?" Winry asked back, putting on an innocent face.

"You guys keep giggling whenever I mention Envy or that you're wasting time," the angry blonde stated. "What's up with you two?"

"Absolutely nothing, brother," Alphonse said a bit too cheerfully, before pulling out his own wallet and standing up. Winry stood up as well, and in turn, so did Edward. His golden eyes met with Winry's blue ones sternly, trying to read her mind and see her intentions. The blonde girl stared back, determined not to break out in laughter and blow everything out of the water. After a few seconds, Ed sighed again and reluctantly said, "Let's just go and pay. We were gonna go to the park, right?"

For the third time that day, the phone rang again. Only this time, it was Lust's cellphone, and Lust stood at the front gates of the Lakeside Sanctuary. She plucked the ringing mobile device out of her purse and flipped it open without seeing who was calling.

"Hello?" She asked.

"We just got out of the train station and are running as fast as we can with all of this stuff that Envy brought," a familiar female voice said. "Geez, did you bring your entire _library_, Envy?"

"Only half of it," said another familiar voice in the background; he sounded quite anxious. "Lust, do you have the letter? Did everything work out?" The black-haired girl grinned, fingering the paper envelope that still lay in her coat pocket.

"You'll see very soon, Envy," she said sultrily. "I think if I tell you later it would turn out much better for all of us."

"Sounds great," Envy said, grinning like there was no tomorrow. "I'll see you very soon."

"I'll be waiting." As soon as Lust hung up, she dialed another number and replaced the receiver to her ear.

Suddenly, Winry's phone rang in her pocket. She stopped the two brothers next to her from walking and stepped off to the side, indicating to them that she had a caller to answer.

"Are they there yet?" The blonde girl whispered, making sure that Ed couldn't hear her.

"Almo- they just arrived," Lust responded, as Winry heard two heavily breathing voices in the background join the conversation.

"Winry?" Paninya asked; the blue-eyed girl said a simply, "nn?" in response. "How far are you from the park?"

"About five minutes," she said.

"Okay, perfect," the tanned-skinned girl said. "Just curious, how much money did you have to spend to stay at that restaurant for as long as possible?"

"$400, that's how much," Winry grumbled. "And I probably gained almost ten pounds. You owe me some serious cash after this." Paninya laughed loudly, startling the blonde a bit.

"Okay, it's great you guys are having fun and all, but we gotta get moving," Envy chimed in impatiently. "I... I can trust you to complete the final step, right, Win?"

"No problem, you palm tree," Winry chuckled. "See you in five. Be ready."

"I will."

"Bye, Winry," Lust said just as the tall girl hung up. She almost skipped back to Alphonse and Edward, and quickly pulled their hands to the direction of the park where Envy waited.

* * *

"Ready to see Edward again, Envy?" Lust asked, casually flipping through a book while sitting on a nearby bench. Envy gazed across at the frozen lake, watching a few flakes of snow start to fall.

"I'm kinda nervous," he said. "What if he's lost feelings for me in the time we've been separated?" Lust smirked, not looking up from her book.

"You're really an idiot sometimes, Envy," she teased. "Do you think someone who would wear a lolita dress just for you have any intentions of ever falling out of love with you?"

"Yeah, but..." The black-haired boy looked down at his hands which where covered with the very gloves that his little blonde chibi bought him only a few months ago. "I just fe-"

"SHHHH!" Paninya's disembodied voice whispered fiercely. The black-haired boy looked around for Paninya, and soon found that she was hiding in a bush with all of his suitcases. "They're coming!" Envy gasped slightly, quickly turning back around to face the lake. Snowflakes were really starting to fall now, but the spiky-haired boy was kept dry under the gazebo roof he stood under. He nervously adjusted his black beret and cape, and quietly waited for his beloved Edward to emerge.

"Winry, where are you taking us?" Ed exclaimed, trying to pull free from Winry's grasped but to no avail. "We're going pretty deep into the park, and we're not even going slowly..."

"Shush! We're taking you somewhere special!" Alphonse whispered excitedly.

"Where would that be?" Edward sighed.

"You'll see. I promise, you'll love it," Winry said in an equally enthusiastic voice to Al's. Suddenly, their pace lessened, as snowflakes fell and landed on Ed's cheeks that were ruddy from the cold. The blonde girl let go of his hand, and ever so slowly he realized where he was.

The blonde-haired boy approached the gazebo that he found so familiar, and spotted a dark-clad figure leaning against the open wall, staring out at the frozen lake. _Is... is that...?_ Ed thought, his golden eyes becoming clouded by wonderment and emotion. As he stepped into the wooden structure, the figure twitched slightly as if it were surprised. Then, Edward truly realized what this was.

It was the exact scene he fantasized about only a few weeks ago.

Envy turned around, his beautiful violet eyes glittering and staring into those of Ed's. They stayed like that for a few moments as Winry, Alphonse, Lust and Paninya stared, until the black-haired boy finally spoke.

"_O, my Edward,_

_I hath loved you for many a moon,_

_Through the times that were sweetenèd by honey,_

_And through the times that were poisonèd by thorns,_

_No matter what hardships thou and I hath been through,_

_I still love you._

_Thou hast the most beautiful gold eyes,_

_Thou hast the most passionate soul in many a world,_

_And thou hast the most important thing to me,_

_Other than thou, _

_Thou hast my heart,_

_From now until thousands of years from now,_

_Until we both perish by each other's sides,_

_I still love you._

_I plead, to thou, my angel, my heart, my soul,_

_Dost thou still love me too?_"

At the long missed sound of his voice, Edward began to cry. Warm tears welled up in his eyes, which soon ran cold once they touched the frigid winter air. Envy gently wiped them away with his thumb, then gently held Ed's red cheek with the same hand. His own violet eyes were filled to the brim with love and happiness that his blonde boy was next to him, was back in his arms, was _his_... _his_, now and forever.

"Edward Elric..." he whispered, slowly closing the gap between him and the blonde. "I..." His voice choked, and he swallowed to try and regain it again. "I..."

"Oh, shut up, Envy, I freaking love you, too." With that, Edward jumped up at Envy and met his lips, feeling every single happy and loving emotion that there possibly could be. His arms wrapped tightly around the black-haired boy's waist, so tightly as if he wasn't sure if he would ever hold him again. After all this time, after so many days and nights spent without his beloved boyfriend, Edward Elric's love stayed stronger than any other human being's; and, as would always be imaginable, so did Envy's. Their kiss deepened into incomprehensible passion, as their joyful tears fell together and their hearts became one. Envy's hands gently massaged the blonde's shoulders, releasing the tension that had been built up after so long without him. After almost a minute, they broke apart, gasping for breath; yet, their embrace stayed stronger than ever.

"Ed..." Envy began. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, you palm tree," Edward responded, almost giggling from sheer happiness.

"Ed..." Envy repeated. "I freaking love you more than anything in the universe."

"I'm glad to see that hasn't changed," the blonde whispered.

"And..." the black-haired boy whispered back, his vibrant purple eyes gazing lovingly at his blonde chibi.

"And...?" Ed asked. Envy chuckled, and kissed his cheek as an indicator of what he was looking for.

"I love you, too, Envy. Now, and forever."

* * *

"Well, I think we can all agree that this plan was a total success," Winry said cheerfully as she sipped her hot cocoa. The snowfall had gotten so thick that no one could really see much, so all six of them ran over to the cafe they all loved so much. But since they got there, Envy and Edward had not left each other's sides. In fact, Envy was kissing Ed for practically three-quarters of the time they were actually there. And at this moment, the black-haired boy just instigated another lip-lock with his adorable blonde chibi. While the other four seemed quite comfortable with it, the waitress who served their table was getting a bit distracted by it.

"Um, sirs..." she mumbled, calling the two boyfriends to attention. "Um... if you don't mind, could you take your, um... physical affections elsewhere? You're disturbing other customers." As Ed opened his mouth to say something, Envy interrupted him with a quick kiss and then answered the waitress with a sharp retort.

"Well, I _do_ mind, as a matter of fact," he said with a mischievous look on his face. "I haven't seen the love of my life for almost two agonizing months. You expect me to keep my paws off of him just because a couple of people have a problem with gay couples? You're probably just jealous that you don't have someone as fabtastical as me to treat you like I treat him." The waitress huffed, strutting away with a "I'm incredibly offended" look on her face. All six of them snickered.

"You didn't have to be _mean_ about it, Envy," Edward protested, but wasn't very believable since he was blushing from the many kisses he was receiving.

"Who gives a fuck," the taller boy said casually, planting yet another sweet and warm kiss on the blonde's lips. "By the way... Lust." The black-haired girl looked up, her face in a calm and collected state. "Where's the letter?" Ever-so-slowly, Lust pulled out a paper envelope from her coat pocket. She tore it open with her long black nails, and pulled it out agonizingly slow so to increase the tension and dramatic effect infinitely. Her brother impatiently tapped his spare hand on the table; his other one was preoccupied by being wrapped around Edward's waist.

"Come on, come on, come on..." he muttered, watching breathlessly as Lust unfolded the paper and began to read it aloud.

"As per request of Mr. Alighieri, father of student Envy Alighieri..." she paused, and her eyes darted around to all the impatient faces that surrounded her. "... Parental and guardian rights have been shared with Mr. Greed Alighieri, in the form of housing, dormitory arrangements and several other responsibilities."

"HELL YES!" Envy shouted, grabbing Ed's hand and standing up on his chair. "I'M BACK FOR FREAKING GOOD, ED! FOR MOTHERFUCKING GOOD!" The shorter boy grinned widely and hugged his boyfriend tightly. "I don't have to listen to a single thing my stupid father says anymore!"

"I _do_ suggest that you be a bit more polite, though," Lust added. "He still has responsibility over your funding towards the school and college."

"Don't give a shit," Envy said nonchalantly, squeezing the blonde boy beside him tightly. "I'm back for good, and I'll never leave your freaking side again, O'Chibi-san. Never again." As soon as he finished his sentence, all six of the teens burst into applause, and Envy pulled a winning move on his wonderful blonde boy: he jumped off his chair, pulled Edward into his arms, bridal-style, and dramatically kissed him straight on the lips, making Ed blush like an elementary school girl with a huge crush.

"You _still_ know how to make me blush like hell," Edward remarked cutely, kissing Envy on the cheek; the black-haired boy grinned so wide he felt his face would split.

"Always, my little Edward," he responded. "And I'll always love you, now and forever."


	45. Epilogue

**PSYCHE! Did you really think I would end it like that? _NO!_ There must always be an epilogue! ^w^ Now, here is the _true _ending of Do You Like Shakespeare?, because I just couldn't stop writing until the end. Thank you all for reading!**

* * *

-Epilogue-

_Edward Elric... will you marry me?_

"Holy shit..." Edward said wide-eyed as he gazed upon the outfit his younger brother held out for him. "No. You've got to be motherfucking kidding me. This was _not_ a part of the deal."

"Come on, Edward..." Alphonse pleaded. "We were lucky enough that Envy's family actually put up the money for the wedding, and it _is_ for Envy... so... please?"

"Can't we get something else here so I don't have to wear-"

"There's not enough time, Ed!"

"Isn't there an extra suit around here, _somewhere_?"

"No, I'm sorry, brother..." Al said defeatedly. "Come on, would you please do it? It's for Envy, you know?"

"_No,_" the older blonde said indignantly. "I am _not_ embarrassing myself like that in front of his and my entire set of family and friends. I am almost 25, now, I don't need-"

"Okay, what the hell is the problem here?" An angry female voice stormed in along with its owner, who just happened to be the one and only Winry. Her vibrant blue eyes rested on the garment in Alphonse's hands, and she immediately froze. "Oh. I see."

"Yeah, you see?" Edward repeated, frustrated. "I'm almost as tall as _him_ now, it's not cute anymore!"

"Actually... it kinda is, Ed..." Winry admitted, failing to hold back her eruption of laughter. "Awww, come on! Do it for Envy! He'll love you to death!"

"He _already_ loves me to death," Ed argued. "I'm _not-_"

"You idiots!" Came another female voice; now Lust walked into the room, looking quite out of place as she wore a beautifully black bridesmaid gown. "You've got less than ten minutes. Edward, suck it up and put it on. It's one day. _Deal with it_." Edward Elric shivered from the serious tone his his fiancé's sister's voice, and begrudgingly took the outfit out of his younger brother's hands.

"Just get out of here, and let me wallow in my own self-pity..." Lust smirked, and walked back out along with Al and Winry. Now alone, Ed looked down at the clothing his dearest Envy bought for him, and sighed. "To think I was done with this a long time ago..."

Envy anxiously adjusted his dark green tie in the mirror and fluffed out his longer-than-ever black hair, making sure he looked his best. He heard a knock on his dressing room door.

"Come in," he said, and the door swung open to reveal his brother Greed, all decked out in a classic tuxedo and ready for his younger brother's wedding. "Oh. Hey, Greed."

"You're looking very palm tree-like," the eldest Alighieri sibling joked; Envy groaned.

"Oi, weren't we done with that joke back in high school?" The black-haired man argued.

"Like hell we were," Greed teased. "Say, uh, did you see the wedding guy around? You know, the one that goes, 'Do you, Envy, take Edward as your lawfully wedded husband,' and stuff like that?" Envy chuckled.

"I didn't hire one," he said, turning around to face his older brother. "You're doing it."

"_What?_ ME?" Greed exclaimed. "Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier? I would've worn my flame-patterned sleeveless tux instead of this boring old thing!"

"What pastor would speak at a wedding between two guys?" The younger of the two asked, bursting out into laughter. "Ed's brother is already the best man, so who else could you be? You'll be the one to wed me and my O'Chibi-san together~!"

"Is that even _legal_?" The older brother asked defeatedly.

"Probably not, but is gay marriage even legal?" Envy asked back. "You read all the stuff, we'll get the paperwork over with some other time." Greed still looked at him incredulously. "Please?"

"... geez, okay," the lanky man agreed. "How could I say no when my little brother is all dressed up and ready to be married to the love of his life?"

Outside the reception hall, every guest of the wedding sat in uniformly arranged chairs in great anticipation of the to-be-wed couple's arrival. Envy stood off to the side and looked out at the crowd: among the seated people were Lust, Gluttony, Izumi and Sig Curtis, Granny Pinako (who was miraculously still alive and kicking), Hohenheim, Paninya, and even Wrath, Pride and Sloth. Yet, as his violet eyes scanned the very last row, Envy saw that his father wasn't present. _Who cares,_ he thought. _I never expected him to come, anyways. I wouldn't even had invited him if it weren't for Ed._ Suddenly, Greed called for the crowd to be silent, and gestured for Envy to come out and stand in his place; he did so, proudly donning his pitch black suit and deep green tie. Envy heard the entry music begin to play, and nervously watched for his gorgeous and absolutely adorable blonde Edward emerge.

"Get _moving_, you moron!" Winry and Alphonse whispered as loud as they could, pushing the shorter blonde towards the exit that led outside. "The music's already playing!"

"I'm too nervous!" Edward whispered back. "I can't do it! Not now! Not in this!"

"Edward Elric..." Winry said, spinning him around and staring right into his golden eyes. "You have dated Envy for how many years now?"

"... almost 10, I think."

"And you realize that's a ridiculously long time to be dating someone without getting married, right?"

"... your point?"

"You and Envy have waited long enough. You can do this, Edward," Winry said encouragingly.

"Absolutely!" Alphonse agreed; the fully-grown blonde man swallowed, and turned around once more to face the exit.

"I can do this..." he whispered.

"Get out there!" Suddenly, Al and Winry gave one final push, and Ed revealed himself to the entire wedding crowd. The thing he wore that he protested so much over was the most beautiful white wedding dress imaginable, complete with long lines of elaborate ruffles circling the skirt that went all the way to the ground. The torso section was a sleeveless bodice that was lined with delicately embroidered leaves, which, upon looking closely, looked a bit like palm tree leaves. Along the waistline was a large and bright red bow that tied together in the back that greatly contrasted with the dominantly pure white color of the dress, but made Edward look all the more gorgeous. It was like the dress had been _made_ for him. Finally, a simple headdress with a shimmering gold veil covered the blonde's furiously blushing face as he walked down the aisle, keeping his golden eyes fixed on his beloved Envy, who was smiling like there was no tomorrow.

_He actually wore it!_ Envy thought excitedly. As soon as Edward took his place beside him, the black-haired man ducked down, lifted up and veil and immediately planted a loving kiss on his lips in front of everyone at the wedding.

"Do we really need to go through all the wedding shit after that little move there?" Greed snickered, patting his younger brother on the back.

"At least go through the very last few things," Envy responded, smirking as Ed blushed to the same shade of red as the bow around his waist. "All that classic wedding stuff is mostly Christian anyways, and we're both sinners beyond belief, so who cares?" The audience of friends and family laughed. "Besides, I think my O'Chibi-san would like to get out of this dress as soon as he possibly could. For future reference, guys, this was all my idea; not his." The black-haired man wrapped an arm around his lover's waist reassuringly, and whispered into his ear, "You look absolutely gorgeous."

"A-As do y-you," Edward responded nervously.

"I love you more than anything, you know that, right?"

"And I love you, too, Envy." Ed grinned, staring into the eyes of the person he was going to spend his life with.

"Alright, so lemme see, where do I begin..." Greed said as he flipped through the wedding book in his hands. After a few seconds of this, he tossed the book behind him and clapped his hands together. "O-KAY! Does anyone have any problems with this marriage before these two lovebirds start making out here? Anyone at all, 'cause I'll kick their ass if they do." No one stood at first, but after a few moments, Envy's father appeared in the crowd. Envy stared at Father incredulously, his skin immediately beading up in sweat as to what the blonde man might say. The black-haired adult had little to nothing to do with his father since he graduated high school; now, he only feared what would happen next.

"What? You gotta problem _now_, _**Father**_?" Greed asked threateningly; Father only waved a hand to cool him down.

"I would just like to talk to my son before he marries the boy beside him," the man said. "Envy."

"Y-Yes?" Envy responded, unwittingly allowing his voice to become unsteady.

"Is this... truly what you need to be happy for the rest of your life?" Envy smiled down at his beloved blonde fiancé, then back at his father.

"Yeah, it is."

"Then... I might as well tell you now, that... Your mother never hated you before she died." Envy let out a silent gasp, and his violet eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "In fact... she loved you more than she ever loved me. I was... jealous of that love, and when she died, I easily took advantage of that, and... I lied to you when you asked about her. And, well..." Father fidgeted around, obviously unused to apologizing. "Well, I... I'm, erm..."

"Oh, just spit it out, you bigoted moron!" Izumi Curtis piped up irritatedly, glaring back at Envy's father.

"I'm sorry, Envy." That was it. That was the one thing that Envy wanted to hear from that man, all throughout his life. A single apology for all his stupidity. Well, not _all_ of his stupidity. But a big part of it.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Greed chimed in. "Now, if there are no more interruptions..." He glanced around once more; no interruptions came, only bright smiles at the loving couple. "Fantastic. Envy, do you take Edward Elric as your lawfully wedded wife-"

"I am _not_ a girl..." Edward muttered irately.

"- In sickness and health, for better or for worse, blah blah blah, for as long as you both shall live?"

"Sure as hell I do," Envy said, the widest grin possible spread across his face.

"And, Edward... ah, what the hell," Greed gave up, grinning along with his younger brother. "You two are married! Envy, you may kiss the bri- husband, sorry."

"Gladly," Envy said, sweeping under Ed's feet, taking him into his arms and passionately kissing him for the first time in wedlock. Everyone around them applauded loudly, feeling incredibly happy for the two boys they watched grow up and grow close.

Finally, after all these years, Edward Elric and Envy Alighieri were together for-absolutely-ever.

-END-


End file.
